WASHINGTON – It's 50 days until voters cast their ballots for president, and Americans are on edge.
It's not just that they have been cooped up at home to avoid a deadly contagion. Or that some downtown areas have been wracked with unrest fueled by protests over police violence and racism. Or that Americans are facing financial hardships because of the pandemic.
Many voters view the White House race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden as crucial to America's future. But while the president's supporters are more enthusiastic than Biden's, many voters grappling with multiple crises are unimpressed and uninspired by the choice they will face on Nov. 3.
“They’re anxious, fearful, angry, and frustrated," Rich Thau, who runs the Swing Voter Project, told USA TODAY when asked to describe voter sentiment.
Thau's group has held focus groups since March 2019 with dozens of "change voters" in seven battleground states – Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – who supported former President Barack Obama in 2012 and switched to Trump in 2016.
