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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Who were the key voter groups in the 2020 election?

People wait in line outside a church.
Voters wait in a short line outside at the Church of the Holy Spirit Nov. 3, 2020 in St. Cloud, Minn.
Paul Middlestaedt for MPR News

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Americans voted early in record numbers this year, and it looks like the total turnout may set a record as well: The U.S. Elections Project estimates nearly 67 percent turnout — the highest in a presidential election since 1900.

But in that vast monolith, who swayed the election, and why?

AP VoteCast, a national survey conducted several days before and on Nov. 3, gives us some big-picture ideas. We know the majority of men voted for President Donald Trump; the majority of women voted for Joe Biden. Voters under the age of 45 overwhelmingly voted for Biden, while Trump squeezed out a lead among voters over 45. 

Some 55 percent of white voters supported Trump, while an overwhelming 90 percent of Black voters cast ballots for Biden.

But when we narrow the focus, there are smaller groups that likely swayed the election. Who are they? Why did they vote as they did? Thursday, MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with two political scientists in an attempt to get some preliminary answers.

Guests:

  • Andrea Benjamin is a political scientist and associate professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

  • Michael Fauntroy is an associate professor of political science at Howard University.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.