Exit poll: Wisconsin voters excited, scared about Trump

WASHINGTON -- Wisconsin GOP primary voters said a potential Donald Trump presidency inspires more excitement -- and more fear -- than his Republican rivals.

That's according to early results of exit polls conducted Tuesday for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

On the Democratic side, voters are more excited about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders but view former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the better candidate to beat Trump.

On the issues, Democratic and Republican voters in Wisconsin said the economy is weighing on their minds as they head to the polls, but Republicans list terrorism higher on their priority lists than Democrats.

Other highlights from the exit polls:

Excited but scared

About a quarter of Wisconsin GOP primary voters say they're excited about Trump, while less than 15 percent said that of Ohio Gov. John Kasich or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, exit polls show.

At the same time, nearly 4 in 10 said they're scared about what Trump would do as president, while only about 1 in 10 said that about Cruz or Kasich.

In the case of a brokered Republican convention, nearly 6 in 10 said the party should nominate the candidate with the most support in the primaries, which so far would be Trump.

Excitement, realism

At least 7 in 10 Democratic primary voters in Wisconsin said they are excited or optimistic about what either candidate would do in office, but they're more likely to be excited about Sanders.

About a third said they're excited about what he would do, and about half as many say that about Clinton.

More than half said Sanders inspires them more about the future of the country, while 4 in 10 said Clinton does. But more than half said Clinton is the candidate best suited to beat Trump. Three-quarters said Clinton has realistic policies, more than the two-thirds who say that of Sanders.

Democratic voters were more likely to describe Sanders than Clinton as honest. Nine in 10 said so of Sanders, while 6 in 10 said so of Clinton.

Economic worries

Republican and Democratic voters in Wisconsin said the economy is weighing on their minds as they headed to the polls Tuesday.

Three quarters of Democratic voters said they are worried about the direction of the U.S. economy, according to early exit polls.

More than a third said the economy and jobs are the most important issues facing the country, and 3 in 10 consider income inequality to be of paramount concern.

The Republicans who came out to vote are even more troubled by the direction of the economy, the early exit polls show. More than 9 in 10 said they are very or somewhat worried.

Similar to the Democrats, about 30 percent of Republicans consider the economy and jobs the country's top problem, and just about as many consider government spending the most important issue.