They split the ticket. Meet the abortion rights voters who went for Trump

Voters in three states – Arizona, Missouri and Nevada – voted on Tuesday to advance protections for abortion rights in their state laws. Meanwhile, Donald Trump may win three states in his bid for the White House.

It’s an upheaval for Democrats, who had hoped that ballot efforts on abortion rights in those states would boost the prospects of their candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris. But data from VoteCast, a large survey of US voters conducted by Associated Press and partners including KFF, found that nearly 3 in 10 voters in Arizona, Missouri, and Nevada who support abortion rights measures also voted for Trump.

“We’ve seen a lot of people who voted pro-abortion and are still voting for Donald Trump,” said Liz Hamel, director of Public Opinion and Survey Research for KFF, a non-profit organization that includes KFF Health News.

VoteCast is a survey of more than 115,000 registered voters in all 50 states conducted between Oct. 28 and Nov. 5. It’s meant to be “the most accurate picture possible of who voted, and why,” according to the AP.

The trend of voters who support abortion rights, but preferring Trump over Harris is held in all ten states with voting systems to protect abortion rights on the ballot.

Almost 1 in 4 respondents said abortion was the “single most important thing” in their choice, although that number was higher than Democrats, young women, Black adults and Hispanic adults.

Abortion rights referendums passed in seven of the states that went to the polls on Tuesday, including Missouri and Arizona, where state bans were overturned. Vice President Harris has made reproductive rights a centerpiece of his campaign, but VoteCast’s results confirm earlier surveys showing economic issues were a top issue in the election.

Tuesday was the first presidential election since the United States Supreme Court overturned the election Roe v. Wade. During Trump’s first term as president, he appointed three Supreme Court justices who later intervened in the 2022 ruling that ended women’s constitutional right to abortion care. belly.

Mike Islami, 20, voted for Trump in Madison, Wis., where he is a full-time student. He said abortion is a “woman’s right” that was “definitely in the back of my mind” when he voted.

“I don’t think a lot will change” about abortion access during Trump’s second term, he said. “I believe his plan is that he will take it back to the provinces and from there they can decide how important it is.”

The survey found that the proportion of people who said abortion was the most important factor in their vote was similar in states that had abortion measures on the ballot and in states that did not. .

When voters cast their ballots, they were largely influenced by concerns about the economy and the cost of filling their gas tanks, housing and food, according to the survey results. Trump won those voters as much in heavily contested states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as in reliably red states.

Glen Bolger, a Republican campaign strategist, said the results of the 2022 election showed that Republican candidates are better at talking about the economy and cost of living than abortion.

This year, Trump voters who supported abortion rights reforms may decide to take Trump “at his word that he won’t support a national ban,” Bolger said. When he voted for Trump, he said, those supporters might have thought, “Let’s elect him to deal with the cost of living and health care and gasoline and everything else.”

A VoteCast poll found strong support for abortion measures from female voters: 72% of women in Nevada, 69% in Arizona, 62% in Missouri.

Erica Wallace, 39, of Miami, voted for Harris and represented the abortion rights vote in Florida, which fell short of the 60% needed to change the state constitution.

“As a grown woman, you’re out and working, living your life,” said Wallace, a senior writer who lives in Miami. He said the government’s ban, which makes abortion care illegal before many women know they are pregnant, amounts to unequal treatment for women.

“I pay taxes. I am fine,” he said. “I do everything that every citizen does.”

Men tended to vote against protecting abortion rights. Men voted 67% in Nevada, 64% in Arizona, and 55% in Missouri for abortion ballot initiatives.

A VoteCast poll found that, overall, voters believe Harris can handle health care. That’s consistent with the long-held view that “Democrats are traditionally more likely to care about health,” Hamel said. However, Trump outperformed Harris among more than half of voters who said they were most concerned about health care costs.

Family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 7% in 2024 to an average of $25,572 annually, according to KFF’s 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey. On average, workers contribute $6,296 annually to family health insurance costs.

“Everybody is affected by the high cost of health care, and nobody has a solution,” Bolger said. “It’s something that voters are very confused about.”

Florence Robbins in Madison, Wisconsin, and Denise Hruby in Miami contributed to this report.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on life issues and is one of the main programs operating on KFF.