Kansas exit poll: Economy most crucial to voters

Voters’ views of Tuesday’s elections, according to a preliminary exit poll conducted in Kansas for The Associated Press:


ECONOMY WEIGHS MOST ON VOTERS

The economy was easily prevailing as the highest priority to Kansas voters. Voters expressed those feelings even as unemployment in Kansas recently dipped to 5.9 percent, one of the lowest jobless rates in the country. It’s also the lowest in Kansas since a month after the 2008 presidential election — when more than half of voters at the time described themselves as very worried about the direction of the economy. Healthcare and the deficit were a distant second in the minds of voters.


MIXED REVIEWS FOR BROWNBACK

Gov. Sam Brownback is getting mixed reviews after nearly two years in office. Voters were about split on whether they approve or disapprove of their former U.S. senator on the eve of massive state tax cuts that are set to take effect in 2013. The cuts were spearheaded by Brownback and are the fiscal cornerstone of his conservative agenda, which seeks to pull Kansas further to the right on social and economic issues. Men more favorably viewed the job being done by Brownback than women.


The preliminary exit poll of 460 Kansas voters was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research in a random sample of 10 precincts statewide. Results were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 7 percentage points; it is higher for subgroups.