Exit polls: Most Georgian voters say Senate second-round elections were fair

Reverend Raphael Warnock won his race against outgoing GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler, screened by CNN early Wednesday morning. The other second round of the elections in Georgia remained too close to be called, GOP Senator David Perdue neck to neck with his Democratic rival Jon Ossoff.

Among Georgia Republicans who voted in this election, about three-quarters say the race for the state president was not conducted fairly, while more than 9 in 10 Democrats say the election, won by President-elect Joe Biden by less than 12,000 votes, was fair. .

Republicans who vote in the second round of the Senate have a little more confidence in the second round than in the November contest. Just over half of Republicans are now confident their votes will be counted accurately.

Among Democrats, more than 9 in 10 are confident their second-round votes will be counted accurately, as are 7 in 10 independents.

That’s a reversal from November, when 92% of Georgia Republicans were confident the votes would be counted accurately, while only 79% of Democrats thought the same, according to exit polls at the time.

There is also a deep divide over the accuracy of presidential elections by race. Only 4 in 10 white voters believe it was conducted fairly, but nearly 9 in 10 black voters do, according to Tuesday’s first exit polls.

Both are more confident in the second round – with nearly two-thirds of white voters and more than 9 in 10 black voters saying they are confident the votes will be counted accurately.

Who voted for whom?

Demographically, the electorate appears to be a bit older than those who voted in November, according to preliminary results from the poll after the poll, but it is similar in its makeup by gender, race and education.

Georgian voters who may have countered their traditional electoral patterns during the November clash have appeared to be returning home to their corners, according to preliminary exit polls.

Schooled white voters, especially men, reverted to Republicans after moving to Biden in the general election. Perdue won just 14 points for the men’s college graduates in November, but more than doubled, leading to over 30 points in this second round.

Meanwhile, Democratic challengers appeared to erase any gains President Donald Trump had made among non-white voters in November. Ossoff consolidated black voters around his candidacy, increasing his lead from 76 points in November to 86 points on Tuesday. Likewise, his lead among Hispanic voters was 30 points on Tuesday, down from 9 points in November.

Overall, among voters of color, 8 out of 10 voted for Ossoff and fellow Democrat Warnock. Among white voters, 7 in 10 chose Perdue and Loeffler.

A majority of women and college-educated voters were found to be more pro-Democrats, while a majority of men and uneducated voters supported the GOP candidates.

Just over 6 in 10 voters aged 18 to 44 voted Democrats, while nearly 6 in 10 of those 45 and over voted for GOP incumbents.

About 6 in 10 voters over 65 voted for Perdue, giving him a 24-point lead over Ossoff in that group. That’s slightly larger than Perdue’s lead over Ossoff in November.

But young voters headed for the Democratic candidate. Two in three voters under 30 voted for Ossoff, up from just 54% in November. Yet this group only represented 1 in 7 voters, down from 1 in 5 in November.

Perdue and Loeffler won the support of nearly two-thirds of voters in rural and small town areas, while Ossoff and Warnock were the prime candidate for those in large cities.

Suburban and independent voters were tightly distributed among the candidates.

Concerned about the coronavirus

Majorities across all parties are concerned that the coronavirus will reach their families, including about 8 in 10 Democrats, two-thirds of independents and about 6 in 10 Republicans.

However, partisan divisions are greater over whether to prioritize limiting the spread of the virus or rebuilding the economy.

A slim majority of all voters in the runoff say it is more important to contain the coronavirus now, even if it hurts the economy, while around 4 in 10 prioritize rebuilding the economy even if it hinders the effort to contain the spread of the virus. , according to preliminary results of the exit survey.

Eight in 10 Democrats prioritize limiting the spread of the virus, while about two-thirds of Republicans say the economy should be the top priority. Among independents, a slim majority believe that limiting the spread is more important.

The economic effects of the pandemic have affected many people who voted in Tuesday’s contests. Most Georgian voters say they have faced at least moderate financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with around 1 in 6 saying they have experienced severe financial hardship.

The CNN exit poll was conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, a consortium of CNN, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News. Interviews were conducted with 5,260 voters in one of three ways: in person on polling day at 39 polling stations across Georgia, in person at 25 advance polling locations around the state, or by telephone to electors who vote by mail or in person during the advance poll. The results for the full sample of voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, it is larger for subgroups.

This story has been updated with additional developments.