What We Did: 2022 Midterm Voters Survey
The slides in this presentation are based on interviews with 5,013 registered voters who had already voted or planned to vote in the November election, with interviews conducted November 1st through November 14th . Support for Democratic candidates and Republican candidates in elections for Governor, Senate, and the House of Representatives have been adjusted to reflect the actual expected results as of November 14th . The analysis aims to provide a new tool for Americans to understand what happened in the 2022 election, why it happened…and what’s next.
Key takeaways
- AAPI voters prioritized inflation & jobs and the economy, abortion, and health care in thinking about their 2022 vote.
- AAPI voters were more likely than the overall electorate to prioritize health care by double digits: three in five AAPI voters both approved of Biden’s handling of health care and said health care was more of a reason to vote for Democrats than Republicans in this election.
- AAPI voters who voted for a Democrat did so because of their stance on abortion, taxing the rich, looking out for the working class, and their commitment to tackling climate change.
- On both the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade and a potential nationwide abortion ban, AAPI voters overwhelmingly sided with pro-choice stances.
- While AAPI voters had similar levels of economic anxiety as the country overall, they overwhelmingly supported a range of policies passed in the last two years under Biden, including the Inflation Reduction Act and other economic policies.
AAPI Voters Leaned Democratic and Non-Conservative, and Supported Democratic Candidates for the House and Senate
Democratic House candidates won AAPI voters by 28 points (62% to 34%) and Democratic Senate candidates overperformed among AAPI voters by an even larger margin (67% to 30%, a 37-point margin).
AAPI Voters Approved of Biden’s Performance Overall and On the Pandemic, Health Care, and Abortion in Particular
AAPI voters only narrowly disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy (net -6 approve) and immigration (net -3).
Top Priorities for AAPI Voters Included Inflation & Economic Issues, Abortion, and Health Care
Compared to voters overall, AAPI voters were more likely to cite health care as one of the most important issues in deciding their vote for Congress (31% top four for AAPI voters vs. 18% overall).
- AAPI voters were less likely to mention border security (9% AAPI vs. 23% overall), corruption (7% vs. 17%), and crime (14% vs. 23%).
AAPI Voters’ Top Reasons to Support Democrats Were Climate, Health Care Costs, Abortion Rights, and January 6th
Other top reasons to support Democrats in this year’s election included the future of Social Security and Medicare (+39), the future of the coronavirus pandemic (+39), and the state of gun violence and mass shootings in the country (+31).
Reported AAPI Voter Outreach From Democratic Candidates Matches Overall, Far Lower Outreach From GOP Candidates
Nearly half (48%) of AAPI voters report that they were contacted by candidates from the Democratic Party at least once. • By contrast, only one in three AAPI voters (33%) say they were contacted by candidates from the Republican Party at least once.
AAPI Voters Cited Abortion, Taxing the Rich/Looking Out for Working Class, Climate as Top Reasons to Vote for Democrats
AAPI midterm voters who voted for a Democrat were very similar to all Democratic voters in prioritizing abortion, tax fairness, climate, and Social Security as top reasons for their vote.
AAPI Voters Strongly Disapproved of SCOTUS Overturning Roe v. Wade and Opposed a Nationwide Ban on Abortion
Nearly three in four AAPI midterm voters disapproved of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (72%) and almost four in five opposed a nationwide abortion ban (79%).
AAPI Voters Slightly Less Pessimistic on the Economy Overall and Job Creation in Particular; Inflation Concerns Were High
AAPI voters were slightly less pessimistic than voters overall on the state of the national economy, and in particular, more than half said the U.S. either created more jobs than it lost (44%) or job creation and losses evened out (18%). Their concerns on inflation were just as high.
AAPI Voters Overwhelmingly Supported Major Democratic Policies, Including Gun Control and the Inflation Reduction Act
AAPI voters supported Democratic policies at higher rates than voters overall for every policy tested.
About The Study
Global Strategy Group conducted an online survey of 5,013 registered voters from November 1-November 14, 2022, with respondents recruited from opt-in online panel vendors. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of the sample reflected that of the expected 2022 electorate in the House, Senate, and Governor’s races. The vote shares for Democrats and Republicans among self-reported 2022 voters were also adjusted to reflect a preliminary estimate of the actual results of the 2022 elections.