New Interactive Map Offers State Data on What Democratic Primary Voters Say About Health Care

Democratic voters across the primary states that have already cast their ballots for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination consistently name health care as the top issue or among the top issues in this year’s election.

A new interactive map highlights what Democratic primary voters are saying about health care as they vote.

Based on KFF’s analysis of the state-level AP VoteCast data collected in most states as they hold their primary elections, health care ranked as either the top issue or tied as the top issue in each contest analyzed, with between 31% to 39% of voters ranking it as the most important issue in each state. However, a larger share of Democratic voters in each primary contest say it is very important to choose a candidate who can beat President Trump than to choose a candidate who has the best policy ideas.

Across states, majorities of Democratic voters favor a single-payer health plan, similar to the one proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and a proposal similar to the one put forward by former Vice President Biden, in which all Americans would have the option of buying a government health insurance plan. In each state, the public option plan garnered more support from Democratic voters than the single-payer plan.

The map includes links to state-specific charts highlighting other health care findings from the AP VoteCast data, including key demographic breakouts. Currently, state data is available from Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, as well as eight of the 14 states that voted Tuesday: Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. KFF will add analysis for additional states after they vote.

The interactive map is part of KFF’s ongoing efforts to provide useful information related to the health policy issues relevant for the 2020 primary and general election campaigns, including policy analysis, polling, and journalism.