A big chunk of Democratic voters in Super Tuesday’s presidential primaries made up their minds just before casting a ballot — a sign of fluidity in a race that changed dramatically after Joe Biden’s blowout in South Carolina on Saturday.
The share of late deciders ranged from about a quarter of voters in Texas to roughly half in Minnesota, according to AP VoteCast surveys of voters in several Super Tuesday contests.
Moderate and conservative voters in each state were slightly more likely than their liberal counterparts to delay a decision to the last minute.
The indecision shows voters grappling with their choices in a race that changed quickly.
Biden’s big win in South Carolina — fueled by a large African-American turnout — revived his struggling campaign and helped push three of his rivals toward the exit.
Biden now wants to consolidate moderate voters to stop Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and overcome the hundreds of millions spent by billionaire Mike Bloomberg — who is on the ballot for the first time Tuesday.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) poses for a selfie ahead of her Super Tuesday night event.Getty ImagesFurther complicating the possible outcomes on Tuesday was that many people voted early for Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out of the race in recent days.
The polling provides a look at Democratic voters in Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia — who they are and what matters to them — based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast surveys, conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Moderates and conservative accounted for the majority of Democratic voters in most of the seven states, just as they have in previous contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Those primary voters also generally preferred a presidential candidate who would pursue practical centrist policies rather than one who would champion bold liberal policies.
Still, roughly half of voters, or more, in each state indicated they wanted to see a candidate who would fundamentally change how the political system works in Washington over one who would return the political system to the way it was before President Trump was elected.
Supporters of Mike Bloomberg attend his Super Tuesday night event in West Palm Beach, Florida.Getty ImagesThe Democratic contests do appear to be drawing some potential swing voters.
About 20 percent of voters said Democrats haven’t locked in their vote and are waiting to see who wins the nomination before deciding how they’ll vote in November.
That was true in six of the seven states AP survey.
The share was smaller — about 1 in 10 — in Minnesota, a state Trump is trying to flip.
Most of this group identified as moderates or conservatives, a sign that they might be open to Trump or consider not voting for any candidate in November.
Democratic candidates have been tasked with proving they can bring together a multiracial and multi-ethnic coalition in order to compete in November.
Several states voting on Tuesday, including Alabama, Texas, California and Virginia, offer a chance to test their appeal.
More than half of Alabama’s Democratic primary voters were African American, and all voters in this state gave an edge to Biden over Sanders and other candidates on who could best handle race-related issues as president.
Biden also enjoys an advantage on racial issues over Sanders from voters in North Carolina and Virginia.
In Texas, over half of Democratic primary voters were non-white, including about 30 percent who were Latino, and voters in the state thought Biden would be best able to handle immigration.
The former New York mayor — worth an estimated $60 billion — deployed his fortune on TV spots, social media memes and a whirlwind tour of the country.
But a large share of Democratic voters seems unhappy with the possibility of him being the presidential nominee.
About 60 percent of voters in Minnesota, Colorado and Massachusetts — his birthplace — said they would be dissatisfied if Bloomberg were the Democratic candidate.
Roughly half in North Carolina and Virginia would also be unhappy.
Only in Alabama and Texas would a majority be satisfied by Bloomberg.
Across all seven states, the other three major candidates — Biden, Sanders and Warren — all see more positive than negative ratings from voters. Majorities said they would be satisfied if any of the three were the nominee.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that its exit polling showed that roughly 50 percent of Democratic primary voters in Virginia said Joe Biden had the best shot at beating Trump in the general election, while roughly 20 percent said Sen. Bernie Sanders had the best chance of beating the president.
The paper reported that there were similar patterns in North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
In Sanders’s adopted home state of Vermont, he edged out Biden held as the best candidate to go head-to-head with the president.
Democratic voters in two other New England states — Maine and Massachusetts — had differing views, the paper’s exit polling showed.
Fewer than 2 in 10 voters named Mike Bloomberg — or Sen. Elizabeth Warren — as the best candidate to go against the incumbent.
The suspension of Klobuchar’s campaign seems to have had an effect on voters in Minnesota, where almost 6 in 10 said they picked their candidate within the last few days, the paper reported.
— With AP




