WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump voters who cast their ballots in Tuesday’s presidential election had very different motivations — reflecting a broader national divide over the issues facing the United States.

AP VoteCast, a broad survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be a primary factor for Vice President Harris’ supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic nominee’s message in the closing days of her campaign accused Trump of being fascist may have broken.

Instead, Trump’s supporters have largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues the former Republican president has hammered since the start of his campaign. Trump promised that CHARGES it would bring back factory jobs and that more domestic oil production would flow through the economy and lower prices.

The conflicting views have created a challenge for whoever wins the election to lead the world’s top economic and military power. Voters saw the qualities of each candidate differently. She was more likely to describe Trump as a strong leader than Harris, but she had an advantage over him in being seen as having moral character was to be presiding.

Candidates raise a number of issues, but voters focus on a few

About two-thirds of Harris voters said that the future of democracy was the most important factor for their votes. No other topic – high prices, abortion policythe future of free speech in the country or the potential to elect the first female president — was just as big a factor for her supporters.

Trump voters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration. About half said high prices were the biggest issue that factored into their election decisions. About the same number said that of the situation on the US-Mexico border. Only about a third of Trump voters said democracy was the most important factor in their vote.

About 1 in 4 said the assassination attempts against Trump were the most important factor in their vote, and about 1 in 10 said that about the legal cases against him. But these were secondary issues for Trump voters.

Trump’s proposed tariffs on allies and foes alike, as well as the mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, resonated with his supporters. About half of his supporters labeled the economy and jobs as the top issue facing the country, while about a third said the top issue was immigration.

Harris’ base, by contrast, focused on a broader range of issues. About 3 in 10 named the economy a top issue, while about 2 in 10 said abortion and about 1 in 10 named health care or climate change.

Most Trump and Harris voters rallied behind their candidate

Both candidates have generated loyalty among their coalitions, a change from four years ago when Trump was ousted from the White House by Joe Biden.

In 2020, about half of Biden’s supporters said their vote for him was cast in opposition to Trump, and about half said their vote was for Biden. This year, about two-thirds of Harris’ voters said they were motivated to vote for her. Only about a third voted against Trump.

Enthusiasm for Trump in his base has remained constant. As in 2020, about 8 in 10 Trump voters said they cast their ballots in support of him, rather than simply to oppose his opponent.

Voters give Harris an edge on moral character, with Trump being a strong leader

The candidates had different strengths in the eyes of voters. Slightly more than half of voters said Harris has the moral character to be president, compared with about 4 in 10 who said that about Trump.

Nearly 6 in 10 said Trump lacks the moral character to be president, a reflection of his criminal convictionshis often inflammatory rhetorichis sexist remarks and actions and his rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election which fueled the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Just under half said Harris lacked the morals to be president.

But voters gave Trump an edge in being a strong leader. A little more than half of voters described Trump as a strong leader, and a little less than half said the same about Harris.

About 6 in 10 said Harris has the mental capacity to serve effectively as president, compared with about half who said that about Trump. But voters were split on whether either candidate could handle a crisis. They were similarly divided on who would bring about positive change.

Trump supporters want a flip, while Harris favor is shifting

About 4 in 10 Trump voters said they favor a “complete and total upheaval” in how the country is run. That response suggests potential support for a dramatic reshaping of the federal government that Trump has pledged to achieve by deregulation, bringing in more federal. agencies under his direct control and reworking the tax code.

Just under 2 in 10 Harris supporters saw the need for a full revolt, although most did not want to maintain the status quo. Most supporters of both candidates said they would like to see substantial change, but Harris voters were more likely to say they favored little change.

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AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report.

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AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, PBS NewsHour, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey of over 115,000 voters was conducted over eight days, ending with the closing of the polls. The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters drawn from state voter files; self-identified registered voters using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population; and self-identified registered voters selected from online non-probability panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. Find more details on the AP VoteCast methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.