‘Kavanaugh and caravan’: Did Trump’s late pitch move voters?

Iris Lopez votes Tuesday, November 6, 2018 at the Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton, Georgia. Lopez, who was a first-time voter, said she went to the polls because she would feel guilty for not doing so if she passed up the opportunity. Iris Lopez votes Tuesday, November 6, 2018 at the Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton, Georgia. Lopez, who was a first-time voter, said she went to the polls because she would feel guilty for not doing so if she passed up the opportunity.

By Associated Press November 8, 2018 5 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump billed the midterms as an election about “Kavanaugh and the caravan,” and it was – although not entirely as he planned.

Both the fight over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the debate over immigration animated Republican base voters in states where the GOP made gains in the Senate. But they also cost his party in suburban races that decided the outcome of the House, contributing to the split-decision Trump received from voters.

Data gathered by AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 115,000 voters and about 22,000 nonvoters, suggests Trump’s closing arguments about the courts and border security cost his party seats in the House.

Here’s a snapshot of who voted and why from VoteCast, the survey conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

KAVANAUGH