Wisconsin, decided by just 20,000 votes in 2020, remains deeply divided politically and is expected to again be one of the most important states in this fall’s presidential matchup between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
That’s why MSNBC political analyst Elise Jordan traveled to the state to host four close-up focus groups with Wisconsin voters, exploring what matters to voters on the ground, how they view the candidates and what might sway people to change their minds in the final months of the year. 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at what voters said as part of four distinct groups: Trump loyalists, center-right voters conflicted about Trump, young progressives, and traditional Democrats.
Harris’ replacement worries some Trump voters, but they don’t believe he will win
A group of seven women who support Trump have revealed why they want to see the former president return to office — they are deeply critical of President Joe Biden’s administration and believe Trump can “repair the damage done over the last four years,” according to a 47-year-old woman named Tara.
Issues like the border and the economy loom large in front of these voters, who blame Biden for unchecked illegal immigration and an economy that doesn’t work for everyday Americans. And they see Trump’s legal problems as being overblown by his opponents.
“I have to work two jobs right now to buy groceries. Am I allowed to say what bothers me? Biden doesn’t know the price of a hamburger, but I’m sure every one of us on this panel does[es]”, – said Kelly, a 60-year-old woman.
“When Trump was still in office, I could buy gas, I could fill up a new Kia, my interest rates changed to buy a new car. So we have to do something,” he continued.
“It’s about getting our country back to the way it was, back to a time when families could go on vacation and do this and that. I love that Trump loves the American people and he doesn’t need to be president or get shot,” said Amy, 49, adding: “Why don’t you want to vote for that guy?”
Trump loyalists all agreed that Harris couldn’t win — either claiming he couldn’t win the presidency because they believed people wouldn’t support him, or repeating baseless theories similar to false claims that Trump could win the 2020 election.
But a group of these women acknowledged that the Democrats’ decision to switch Biden to Harris was theirs.
Mary, 76, said: “Everyone is excited for him and it scares me. “Trump has to reconfigure where he’s going and how he’s going to get ahead of him.”
And Kelly worried that “the worst side of Trump could be back.”
Right-leaning swing voters remain disillusioned with issues and candidates even after Biden leaves the candidacy.
Unsurprisingly, the issue is at stake among five groups of Republican-leaning Wisconsin swing voters — including the economy, the border, foreign affairs and abortion rights. But the conversation revealed how voters, even those who believe they have made up their minds, are worried about their choices before the fall.
Three out of five voters now say they support Trump. But two more remain undecided.
“My concern with Trump is that he’s making very aggressive choices and we can’t get rid of him. If a bomb is thrown at our door, it goes out the door as fast as it hits us. But it makes me nervous because have we checked everything that’s going to happen?’ said Alyssa, 29, who still hasn’t decided how she’ll vote this fall.
“My concern with Harris is this: a bomb is dropped on our doorstep, it takes us six months to move, and now we’re considered weak,” Alyssa added.
Dawn, who plans to vote for Trump, said she was concerned that Harris didn’t care about Biden’s fitness for office and that Trump was “being too loud.”
Karen, a 70-year-old undecided voter, worries about what she already knows about Trump, but also worries about the unknowns surrounding Harris.
“I don’t think we can ignore Trump’s convictions, integrity and moral character,” Karen said. “If he takes revenge for something that upsets him, he will take revenge without slowing down, and I’m worried about him. “Honestly, I need to know more about Kamala because I don’t know enough about her, so I’m on a wait-and-see basis.”
Young progressives are pessimistic but happy to see Harris replace Biden
Young voters, especially progressive voters on college campuses in Wisconsin, will be a key voting block for Democrats this fall. One thing that is clear from talking to five of these voters is that they are very disappointed.
36-year-old Nikolay, who explains the state of the world in an offensive way He criticized the system, which he believed favored “elite, wealthy people” over the middle class.
“Even though I vote for the lesser of two evils in every election because I think that’s our only option for self-defense as a middle class, definitely the financial interests on both sides, the military industrial complex, the energy companies, you name it,” he said.
A similar concern about the direction of the country and the middle class is one reason Joe, 35, believes Trump’s message appeals to disaffected people.
“Trump is someone who has played on people’s legitimate concerns about how the economy is going, about how we have less and less agency when it comes to how we interact with government, corporations, and our workplaces. “I don’t think what he’s proposing is actually going to work to solve it, but it makes people feel good.”
These voters also expressed concerns about America’s stance on Israel’s war against Hamas. a running theme raised questions over the past few months about whether Democrats could pay a political price with key voters critical of Biden’s handling of the war.
The group broadly supported Biden’s decision not to seek another term, which elevated Harris, although some said it would have been better for the country and the party if he had made his decision earlier.
Myra, 39, who said she felt more “activated” by the switch to Harris, was disappointed that the decision on who runs has been taken out of the hands of primary voters.
“It should be a process, we should be part of it. So, in principle, I don’t like that part. However, he’s the vice president and we’re late in the game and we would elect him to the position by electing Biden,” he said.
“What he brings is fresh and you don’t know much about him, but that can be a good thing,” Myra said. “He’s been in office for four years, so he may not have the network, but he knows the network, he knows who the players are. He might not be in the same meetings as Biden, but he’ll be included in the briefings, he’ll know where all the chickens are. It’s powerful.”
Traditional Democrats think Biden should go
This support, which stopped Biden from making political leaps, also spread to the traditional group of Democrats. The broad consensus of these focus group participants was that while Biden was held to a different standard than Trump, the decision to step aside was a wise one.
Brett, 41, called Biden’s June 27 debate performance “terrible” and claimed that Trump’s failure to take advantage of the “ripe” opportunity presented during the debate made him wonder if Biden would be ready to run for president in the future.
“I’m glad he made the right decision,” she said. “This is the best for our country.”
However, many Democrats criticized the media and Republicans for what they saw as unfair treatment of both Trump and Biden.
“All the focus was on him stumbling and fumbling, I understand that. But Trump was sitting there and everything that came out of his mouth was a lie,” said 77-year-old Richard.
Jolenta, 61, called Biden’s behavior “disgusting” after the debate and accused the media of going after Trump because they believed he would win. And he said he only felt “good” about his decision to step down because of political realities, as he believes Biden has strong values and can handle the job of president.
“I wasn’t surprised by any gibberish he did in the debate because he’s stuttered his whole life, he’s always been prone to gibberish,” he said.
But Jolenta added that Biden “wasn’t holding back, there was so much fodder out there that he could have just beat Trump — all the crime, the hunting, the criminality, all the crazy plans for the next administration. And he wasn’t doing that, and that’s the only reason I felt good about him backing out.”
As for what they believe Harris can do now to stand out from Biden, Democrats have raised the prospect of Harris taking a deeper look at protecting reproductive rights, a potential change in approach to Israel’s war with Hamas, and finding a way to resolve the issue. Despite the “relatively good economy,” some people are hurting. And everyone believes that the price of the election cannot be higher than that.
“I think Trump is the most dangerous person in the world. He’s just a loose cannon and you can’t count on anything he or his allies will do. What really scares me is that he will do anything and say anything to win,” said Richard.