The US presidential race has entered the last lap, with nail-biting hours set to unfold as the votes are counted in the states. A final tally of electoral college votes will not be available until after hours, or perhaps days, but early trends show that President Donald Trump and Joe Biden have taken leads on expected lines.
Now, here's a look at the exit polls that cast a glance into the mood of the electorate on the election day.
Trump or Biden?
Interestingly, some exit polls revealed that a huge chunk Biden supporters believed it was their duty to defeat Trump. The 'negative partisanship' was high among Biden voters as they thought the return of Trump was detrimental to the country.
According to Morning Consult, 44 percent of Biden voters said their vote as more against the Republican president than for the Democratic nominee, while 22 percent of Trump voters said they were mostly voting against Biden.
Economy
According to CNN's exit poll, the economy was a priority for most of the voters. However, as expected, the voters are evenly split in their opinion on how the economy is faring. More than half of the participants believed that they are better off today than four years ago.
Coronavirus
More than half of the respondents said the coronavirus pandemic has caused them financial hardship. The poll revealed deep concern among a vast majority of the people about the scale of the pandemic that killed more than 230,000.
According to Reuters, four out of 10 voters said they think the effort to contain the virus is going "very badly." Six of 10 said the pandemic had created at least a moderate financial hardship.
Racial inequality
Another area for concern was the racial equality scenario prevailing in the country in the backdrop of the police killing of black people and the Black Lives Movement.
Importantly, over half of Biden supporters said that racial discrimination in the United States is systemic. However, a vast majority of Trump voters said that discrimination in the country is a product of individuals who hold racist views.
Climate Change
While more than 70 percent of Biden voters said climate change was a very important matter, only less than 20 percent of Trump voters believed so. Only less than half of rural voters said climate change was a very important factor.
