By admin 
Difficult days lie ahead of us.
This abbreviated 109-day presidential battle between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump proved that it can happen here – that a large number of people across the country did not find it disqualifying that a candidate is a racist, sexist, serial liar , conspiracist and convicted criminal who wants to punish his political enemies – and I know I’m leaving some things out.
One of the preliminary findings of the 2024 exit polls is that this election has scared us.
When Harris voters were asked how they would feel if Trump were elected, 70% said they would be “afraid,” followed by 24% who said they would be “worried,” while 3% said they would be “optimistic.” and 1% would be excited.
Trump voters, asked the same question, said that if Harris won, 58% would be “afraid,” 36% “worried” and 3% “optimistic.” No one said they were “excited.”
Exit polls provide the best information we have about the electorate: who voted, what issues were important to them, how they feel about certain issues, and more. The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for a consortium that includes ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News. The surveys draw thousands of voters, some of whom interviewed early voters in person on Tuesday or earlier. Telephone interviews were conducted with voters who used mail-in ballots.
The exit poll showed that these elections have given us a bleak outlook. About 72% indicate that they are dissatisfied or angry, and 26% are enthusiastic or satisfied about the direction we are heading.
Yes, there was a gender gap between Harris and Trump
The gender gap? It happened. According to the exit polls, Harris, who would become the country’s first female president, was supported by 55% of women and 43% of men.
Trump’s supporters were 53% men and 43% women.
Democracy a top issue for Harris voters, abortion far behind
I was surprised that abortion didn’t even come first. Among Harris voters, 56% said their most important issue was the “state of democracy,” followed by abortion at 21%, the economy at 13%, foreign policy at 3% and immigration at 2%.
Saving our democracy was certainly an issue Harris campaigned on.
As Harris said Monday at a rally in Pittsburgh in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania: “And the thing is, guys, we’re fighting for a democracy. We fight for a democracy. And in a democracy, true leadership understands that the leader listens to the experts and listens to people who disagree with them. I will listen to people who disagree with me because I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy.”
But this 2024 presidential election was the first since women lost the federal right to abortion in the landmark 2022 Dobbs decision, and the Harris campaign — and affiliated groups — spent enormous resources arguing that Harris would protect reproductive rights while Trump would do that. continue to support efforts to erode it.
Democracy and the economy are the top Trump voter issues
Despite Trump’s continued emphasis on immigration — his promise to carry out mass deportations if he becomes president again and his accusations that migrants are criminals and take “black” jobs — this was not the main issue for his supporters, exit polls show.
For Trump’s supporters, the “most important issue” was the “state of democracy,” at 35%, followed by 31% who said the economy, 14% abortion, 11% immigration and 4% foreign policy.
Trump’s continued stoking of inflation — and blaming it on President Joe Biden and Harris — had an impact.
Harris, Trump’s voters were divided over whether the vote was fair
Trump, who continued to deny that he had lost the 2020 election until the end of the campaign, has paved the way — along with his allies — to claim victory on Tuesday regardless of the number of votes. Trump has spoken of non-existent voting irregularities in the final days of the campaign.
According to the exit polls, 47% of Trump voters said they were “confident” that the election was “fair,” while 52% were not confident.
Among Harris’ voters, it was a dramatically different picture. The exit polls showed that 88% of Harris voters were “confident” the election was fair, compared to just 11% who said they were “not sure.”
Many voters decided last week
Some of you have known since July 21 — the day Biden dropped his reelection bid and passed the baton to Harris — whether you would vote for Harris or Trump.
Then there are a lot of others who needed this campaign — the speeches, the negative and positive ads, the presidential and vice-presidential debates — to help them decide.
Last week, 58% of Harris supporters decided in North Carolina, according to exit polls. That makes sense, because she only had 109 days to argue her case. For Trump – who was making his third bid for the presidency – 36% of his supporters decided last week.