Washington – Exit Polls: Voters Who Want Change Go For Trump

Washington – In South Carolina, Republican primary voters who wanted a candidate who can bring change or who “tells it like it is” handed a victory to businessman Donald Trump, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the Associated Press and television networks.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was leading among those wanting a candidate who shares their values, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio among those who care the most about electability.

In Nevada, older women turned out in force to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in that state’s Democratic caucuses, even as she continued to struggle to gain the support of younger women, according to entrance polls conducted among those arriving at caucus sites on Saturday.

A closer look at Democratic caucus-goers in Nevada and Republican primary voters in South Carolina:

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TRUMP LED ANGRY VOTERS

Few South Carolina primary voters have a positive impression about how the federal government is working. About half said they were dissatisfied and 4 in 10 said they were angry about how Washington is working.

Trump led the angry voters, while those who were just dissatisfied split between the top three candidates.

Voters split on whether the next president should be an outsider or a member of the political establishment. Trump won the votes of 6 in 10 of those wanting an outsider, while Cruz and Rubio were tied for the lead among those wanting someone with experience.

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QUALITIES LOOM LARGE

Close to 4 in 10 Republican primary voters in South Carolina said “shares my values” was the most important quality they’re looking for in a candidate. Electing someone who can bring change was most important to 3 in 10.

Less than 2 in 10 said it’s most important that a candidate can win in November or “tells it like it is.”

Cruz was backed by nearly 4 in 10 of those who care most about shared values, while more than 4 in 10 of those who are looking for change preferred Trump. Despite being a small proportion of voters, those who wanted a candidate who “tells it like it is” were important to Trump — he was supported by three-quarters of them. About half of those who care about electability in November voted for Rubio.

Three-quarters of voters described themselves as born-again Christians and nearly half said it matters a great deal that a candidate shares their religious beliefs — both increases from 2012. But while Cruz led among those wanting a candidate who shares their religious beliefs, he split the vote with Trump among those who said they were born-again Christians.

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DEMOGRAPHICS KEY IN NEVADA

In Nevada, women were more likely to support Clinton and men to support Sanders, the entrance poll there showed. Sanders gained the support of 7 in 10 caucus attendees under 45 and Clinton of two-thirds of those age 45 and over. About two-thirds of Nevada caucus-goers were at least 45.

Seven in 10 women under 45 supported Sanders. But two-thirds of caucus-going women were 45 and over, and 7 in 10 of them supported Clinton.

A large majority of black caucus-goers supported Clinton, while whites and Hispanics were more evenly divided.

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CLINTON FOR EXPERIENCE, SANDERS FOR HONESTY

As was the case for caucus-goers in Iowa and primary voters in New Hampshire, Nevada caucus-goers who cared most about voting for a candidate who’s honest and trustworthy or one who cares about people like them overwhelmingly supported Sanders, while whose looking for experience or electability overwhelmingly backed Clinton.

The top issues named by caucus-goers in Nevada were the economy, followed by income inequality and then health care, according to the entrance poll. Clinton won a majority of those who said the economy or health care were their top issues, while those who named income inequality supported Sanders.

About half of caucus attendees said they think the next president should generally continue President Barack Obama’s policies, while about 4 in 10 said they want the next president to have more liberal policies. Among those who wanted a continuation of Obama’s policies, most came to support Clinton. Among those who want more liberal policies, most support Sanders.

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REPUBLICANS WANT MUSLIM BAN

Just over half of South Carolina primary voters said immigrants who are living in the country illegally should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, and those voters tended to prefer Rubio. More than 4 in 10 said they should be deported back to their country of origin, and they were most likely to back Trump.

There is no such division among the Republicans on the issue of allowing Muslims into the country. About three-quarters support a temporary ban on Muslims who are not American citizens from entering the country, and those voters were most likely to support Trump.

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The surveys were conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research as Republican voters left their polling places at 35 randomly selected sites in South Carolina and as Democratic voters arrived at 25 randomly selected caucus sites in Nevada. In Nevada, the results include interviews with 1,024 Democratic caucus-goers and have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. In South Carolina, the preliminary results include interviews with 2,007 Republican primary voters and have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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