Harris and Trump voters motivated by democracy, but for different reasons

During inflation And migration emerged as the main themes of this year presidential raceAnother issue came to the fore in the minds of voters for both major candidates: democracy.

Half of voters identified democracy as the most important motivating factor for their voting. This rate was higher than the rate of voters who gave the same answer about inflation. US-Mexico border, abortion policy Freedom of expression, according to an AP VoteCast poll of more than 120,000 voters nationwide.

Especially supporters Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald TrumpThe president-elect looked at the issue from different perspectives.

Nearly two-thirds of Harris voters said: future of democracy was the most important factor in getting their votes. No other issue—high prices, abortion policy, freedom of speech, or the potential for the first woman to become president—was as important a factor to her supporters. Harris gravitated specifically to this message end of campaign: Said Trump was a threat to undermine the country’s founding ideals and called him out a fascist.

The sentiment was supported by: old members First from the Trump administration to warn about suitability for office. Trump rejects peaceful transfer of power lie about loss against Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. And on January 6, 2021, Trump too directed a crowd of supporters capitol After telling them this “Fight like hell.”

Audrey Wesley, 90, from Minneapolis, quoted Trump as saying legal cases and its disregard the law As one of the reasons he supports Harris.

“Our system is broken,” he said.

Wesley said one of the things that bothered him the most was this: Project 2025detailed conservative plan for the next Republican administration. Trump said he didn’t read reportAlthough many members of his first administration had a hand in creating it.

“It’s very scary for what he wants to do,” Wesley said.

The idea that democracy is under attack also motivated Trump voters, but in completely different ways. Nearly a third of his supporters said democracy was the most important factor for their vote.

A further analysis of the poll found that 9 in 10 Harris voters who cited democracy as the most important factor in their vote were somewhat or very concerned that Trump’s election would bring success to the country. closer to authoritarianism. Nearly 8 in 10 Trump voters thought electing Harris would move the country closer to authoritarianism. “Democracy voters” who supported Harris and Trump were equally concerned that the opposing candidate’s views were too extreme.

Findings followed a consistent pattern In recent polls by AP VoteCast and Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. During future of democracy Although it’s one of the few crossover concerns in a fragmented electorate, people have different views on why they’re worried about it and who is responsible for the threat.

There were many important factors in the decision to vote for Debbie Dooley, 66, one of the founders of the tea party movement, all of whom raise concerns about what would happen to the country under another Democratic administration.

“I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said tyranny exists when people are afraid of their government,” he said. “We have experienced tyranny under the Biden-Harris machine.”

Dooley, a longtime Trump supporter, cited the country’s “open border” and the concerns many conservatives have about crimes caused by immigrants who violate the law. Cumming, a Georgia resident, also agrees with Trump’s claim that the Biden administration has unleashed the Justice Department on political rivals.

“This is something they do in Russia. This is something they would do not in the United States but in China or the beacon of freedom for the world,” Dooley said.

Republicans held congressional hearings for almost two years but have provided little basis for the claim that Biden has “weaponized” the department.

Like many other conservatives, Dooley felt social media companies were silencing their voices, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Thank God for Elon Musk,” he said. “Twitter or X is a completely different place now than it was before that takeover, so we have First Amendment rights. This is freedom of expression.”

The poll found that nearly all “democracy voters” who support Trump say free speech was at least a factor in their vote. This was less of a salient issue for Trump voters, who said democracy was a minor or not a factor in their election.

Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan said opposing views about which side poses a threat to democracy are understandable because both campaigns talk about the other in those terms. Since democracy is an abstract issue, what constitutes a threat may vary.

“Harris has talked a lot about democracy, and the Democratic coalition has talked a lot about threats to democracy,” he said. “So it is not surprising that many Democrats correctly perceive Trump as a threat and call this one of the most important issues.”

It may seem unusual for Republicans to repeat the allegation against Harris, but one of Trump’s political strategies is to appropriate an attack against himself and turn it on his opponent. Nyhan said Trump successfully did this with the argument of democracy.

For example, border protection might mean one thing to a Harris supporter and something quite different to a Trump voter who might support the idea of ​​the great replacement conspiracy theory—the idea that white influence is diminishing through illegal immigration.

In her commencement speech at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, Harris touched on the importance of accepting election results and peacefully transferring power, even if there is a loss. conditioned on whether or not to view election result As far as fair.

“This principle, like other principles, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny,” Harris said.

Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor of history at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said the democratic processes expressed by the won presidential vote have been won for now.

“The 2024 presidential election, as I understand it, was basically an example of democracy in action. Trump won the Electoral College. “Trump won the people’s votes,” he said.

The question is whether the country would have been as peaceful if the outcome had been different, and how the nation will bridge that rift in the future when “a very vocal segment” of the American public sees democracy only working “when my side wins, but it’s tyranny.” When your side wins?”

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Associated Press writer Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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