Exit polls: West Virginia, Nebraska GOP excited about Trump
WASHINGTON – Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump steamrolled through the West Virginia and Nebraska primaries, victories boosted by majorities of Republican voters who say they’re optimistic or excited about the possibility of a Trump presidency.
In the West Virginia Democratic primary, where a significant portion of voters said they were not Democrats, independent voters were favoring Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Also in West Virginia, voters from both parties in Tuesday’s presidential primary are united on two things: They see the economy as the top issue facing the country, and they think trade is taking American jobs.
In Nebraska, where voters were going to the polls in the state’s Republican primary, the overwhelmingly majority say their party is divided and a significant portion of them don’t see that as changing by November.
Those are among the early findings from exit polls conducted for the Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
Other highlights from the exit polls:
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TRUMP’S BASE
Most West Virginia Republicans feel good about the possibility of a Trump presidency.
About 8 in 10 say they’re excited or optimistic about what he would do, and about 9 in 10 West Virginia Republicans say they would vote for Trump in a general election matchup against Clinton.
About two-thirds of GOP voters in the state say it’s very likely the billionaire would beat Clinton in West Virginia in the general election. About a quarter say it’s somewhat likely.
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DEMOCRATS IN NAME ONLY
A third of West Virginia Democratic primary voters say they identify as independents, and nearly 7 in 10 of those voters supported Sanders.
Overall, just 6 in 10 of those voting in that state’s Democratic primary say they’re Democrats.
The exit polls also illuminated another bloc of voters: those who voted for Sanders on Tuesday but would abandon him if he faced Trump in November.
In a Sanders-Trump general election matchup, 3 in 10 primary voters say they would support Trump.
In a Trump-Clinton matchup, one-third of the primary’s voters– again mostly Sanders supporters – say they’d vote for Trump in that matchup.
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ECONOMIC WORRIES
More than half of voters in both West Virginia primaries say the economy is the top issue facing the country. About 6 in 10 voters in the Democratic primary say they’re very worried about the economy and 3 in 10 say they’re somewhat worried.
About two-thirds of the state’s Republican primary voters and more than half of Democratic primary voters say trade with other countries mostly takes jobs from American workers.
In Nebraska, half of Republican primary voters say trade takes jobs, while about a third say it creates them. Still, far fewer than in West Virginia – just 3 in 10 – say the economy is the top issue facing the country. Another 3 in 10 say government spending, 2 in 10 say terrorism and 2 in 10 say immigration.
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PARTY DIVIDE
Most West Virginia Republicans see their party as divided, but few think it will remain that way in November. Only 1 in 10 think their party is united now, but about another 6 in 10 think it will unite by November. Just 3 in 10 think it will remain divided.
In Nebraska, hardly any GOP primary voters think their party is united, and they’re less optimistic than West Virginians about that changing.
More than 9 in 10 Nebraska Republican primary voters say their party is divided, and more than 4 in 10 say it will remain that way through the general election. Just under half of the state’s GOP primary voters think their party will unite by November.
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The surveys were conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research as voters left their polling places at 25 randomly selected sites in West Virginia and 20 in Nebraska.
Preliminary results include interviews with 734 Democratic primary voters and 566 Republican primary voters in West Virginia, and with 653 Republican primary voters in Nebraska. The results among all those voting in each contest have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points in West Virginia and plus or minus 5 percentage points in Nebraska.
AP-WF-05-11-16 0131GMT