WASHINGTON — Voters for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump 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 110,000 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 persistent messages in the final 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 he was supposed to be president.

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 freedom of expression in the country or the potential to choose the first female president — was just as big a factor for her supporters.

Meanwhile, Trump voters were largely motivated by economic issues and immigration. About half of Trump voters said high prices were the biggest issue that factored into their electoral decisions. About the same number said that of the situation on the US-Mexico border. Only about 1 in 4 said assassination attempts against Trump were the most important factor in their vote. About 1 in 10 said this about legal cases against him. But these were secondary issues for his 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 as economy and jobs as the main problem facing the country, while a third said the main problem 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.

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

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. Fewer than 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 divided on whether either candidate could handle a crisis. They were similarly divided on who would bring about positive change.

About 4 in 10 Trump voters said they sought a complete and total change in how the country is run, a response that suggests potential support for a dramatic reshaping of the federal government that Trump has pledged to achieve by eliminating regulations, bringing several federal agencies under control. its direct control and the reworking of 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 110,000 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.