WASHINGTON >> Voters for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump who cast their ballots for Tuesday’s presidential election had vastly different motivations — reflecting a broader national divide on the problems the United States faces.

AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found that the fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Vice President Harris’ supporters. It was a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of being a fascist may have broken through.

By contrast, Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign. Trump has pledged that tariffs would bring back factory jobs and that greater domestic oil production would flow through the economy and lower prices.

The conflicting views set up a challenge for whoever wins the election to lead the world’s premier economic and military power. Voters saw the qualities of each candidate differently. They were more likely to describe Trump as a strong leader than they were Harris, but she had an edge over him on being seen as having the moral character needed to be president.

About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor for their votes. No other topic — high prices, abortion policy, the future of free speech or the potential to elect the first female president — was as big a factor for her backers.

Trump voters, meanwhile, were motivated largely by economic issues and immigration. About half of Trump voters said high prices was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions. About as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Only about 1 in 4 said the assassination attempts against Trump were the most important factor in their vote.

About 1 in 10 said that about the legal cases against him. Those were secondary issues for his voters, though.

Trump’s proposed tariffs on allies and enemies alike as well as mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants resonated with his supporters. About half his backers labeled the economy and jobs as the top issue, while a third said the top issue was immigration.

Harris’s base was focused on a broader range of issues. About 3 in 10 called the economy a top issue, while about 2 in 10 said abortion and about 1 in 10 named health care or climate change.