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Edison declared former Vice President Joe Biden the winner over
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, in Michigan, Missouri,
Idaho and Mississippi after voting ended in those states.
Young voters and white men - two groups among whom Sanders has
attracted strong support - made up roughly the same proportion
of turnout as they did in 2016 in Michigan, Missouri and
Mississippi, the three states where Edison has data in both
years.
And a large majority of African Americans in those states voted
for Biden, despite Sanders' last-minute endorsement from civil
rights activist Jessie Jackson.
Sanders, a progressive stalwart who has been buoyed by his
support for increasingly popular proposals like Medicare for
All, which would replace private health insurance with a
government-run plan, has based his candidacy on the notion that
he could drive up voting among people who tend to stay away from
politics.
So far, that has not happened in many of the states that have
voted this year. Biden won the lion's share of the delegates in
last week's Super Tuesday contests when 14 states voted.
Edison, which compiles voter polls and live election results for
media organizations including ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News
and Reuters, also found that a majority of voters said Biden was
the candidate they trusted most to handle a major crisis, a
sentiment that may be weighing heavily as coronavirus cases
spread across the country.
The respiratory illness has killed 29 people in the United
States and infected nearly 1,000 people, with nearly
three-quarters of the 50 U.S. states reporting cases. Its swift
spread across the globe has forced many school closures, event
cancellations and cutbacks in business travel.
Stocks on Monday suffered their biggest one-day drop since the
2008 financial crisis before recovering somewhat on Tuesday.
Edison found that when it comes to confronting a major crisis,
about 44% of voters in Washington state, 50% in Michigan and 61%
of voters in Missouri said they trusted Biden.
About three in 10 Democratic primary voters in each of those
states said they trusted Sanders more than Biden.
Here are other highlights from Edison's exit polling in
Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Washington. Edison did not
conduct voter surveys in Idaho or North Dakota, which also held
nominating contests on Tuesday.
The proportions may change as more polling is conducted and
votes are tallied.
** Sanders won large majorities of voters under 30 years old in
many primary states this year, including Michigan and Missouri
on Tuesday. Yet that group had a smaller impact on the results.
Voters between 18 and 29 made up 14% of the Democratic primary
electorate in Missouri and 16% in Michigan, down a few
percentage points in each state from 2016.
** African Americans mostly voted for Biden. Barack Obama's
former vice president won 87% of the black vote in Mississippi,
72% in Missouri and 66% in Michigan.
** In Washington, Biden appears to have made most of his gains
in support in the last few weeks. Sanders had a comfortable lead
among those Democratic primary voters who made up their minds
last year, beating Biden by a 3-to-1 margin. Yet Biden beat
Sanders by nearly the same 3-to-1 margin among those voters who
decided in March.
** 38% of voters in the Washington state Democratic primary said
they were "very concerned" about the coronavirus outbreak, and
those who were the most concerned supported Biden over Sanders
by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. Washington has been the hardest hit
by the health crisis of any state, with 24 deaths, nearly all of
them in the greater Seattle area.
** Neither Sanders nor Biden can claim to have the more
energized supporters. In the Washington state Democratic primary
32% of voters said they would be 'enthusiastic' if Biden wins
the nomination, while 35% said they would feel the same way if
Sanders won. In Missouri, 42% of voters said they would be
'enthusiastic' if Biden wins the nomination, versus 32% who
would feel the same if Sanders wins. In Michigan, 31% of
Democratic primary voters said they would be 'enthusiastic' if
Biden wins the nomination, while 39% said the same if Sanders
wins.
** Most Democratic primary voters said they would line up behind
the party's nominee regardless of who it is. That includes 89%
of voters in Washington, 86% of voters in Missouri and 82% in
Michigan.
** Only a small minority of Democratic primary voters said they
would be "upset" if either Sanders or Biden won the nomination.
One out of 10 voters in Washington and Michigan said they would
be 'upset' if Biden won, while two of 10 said they would feel
the same if Sanders wins.
** Thirty-three percent of Democratic primary voters in Michigan
said they made up their minds in the last few days, compared
with 20% in Mississippi and 27% in Missouri.
** Healthcare was the top issue in each of the states surveyed
on Tuesday. Forty-three percent of Democratic primary voters in
Michigan, 47% in Missouri, 42% in Mississippi 37% in Washington
named healthcare as a bigger concern than climate change, race
relations or income inequality.
** Among voters naming healthcare their top issue, a majority
backed Biden in Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri.
(Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall, Peter
Cooney and Richard Pullin)
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