US Swing State Voters Frustrated and Anxious as Election Moves Closer
U.S. President Joe Biden, July 2024. Photo: X/ @SprinterFamily
July 19, 2024 Hour: 8:52 am
Disenchantment with the candidates of both parties pushes citizens to feel apathy and disappointment with politics.
While former U.S. President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, incumbent President Joe Biden is grappling with intensifying pressure from within his Democratic Party to drop out of the race.
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For some voters in key swing states, frustration and anxiety are prevalent as they struggle to make a decision for the upcoming election, which is less than four months away.
“I don’t want to talk about the election,” “I have nothing to say about the election,” “I’m not interested in politics,” and “I’ll be glad when the election is over,” these are some of the responses from people at a Walmart in Sauk County, Wisconsin, when asked about their views on this year’s election.
Apathy and disappointment with politics were fraught among some U.S. voters, with one possible reason being their dissatisfaction with either of the candidates running in the election.
A survey released by the Pew Research Center in June showed that a quarter of Americans held unfavorable views about both party candidates, making Biden and Trump the least-liked pair of presidential candidates in at least three decades. In another survey released last week by the Pew Research Center, a majority of voters characterize both Biden and Trump as “embarrassing.”
“I don’t know who I will vote for,” an independent voter from Madison, Wisconsin, said and added that he thinks both Trump and Biden have some achievements during their presidencies, and each has their own experience in governance, but he doesn’t believe either will address his concerns.
His main concern is social stability. He noted that in some areas, there is an inadequate police presence to ensure residents’ safety. He also wants the government to use taxpayers’ money efficiently, ensuring that resources are allocated to assist the most vulnerable, such as the homeless.
A Democratic voter in Portage, Wisconsin, who refers to himself as Tom, said that a lot of people around him don’t care about politics. He disagrees with the calls within the Democratic Party for Biden to step down, believing that if Biden withdraws from the race, other “newcomers” would struggle to match his level of recognition and governance experience, which could eventually hurt the Democratic Party’s chances of winning the election.
For Republican voter Paul, an Uber driver in Milwaukee, the economy is his biggest concern. “Inflation is so severe that the price of a dozen eggs has risen from US$4.99 to US$8.99… Heating is too expensive, gas is too expensive, and interest rates are so high that I can’t afford a house,” he said.
Paul is also deeply worried about border-related issues, arguing that crime, such as human and drug trafficking, is increasing due to the influx of illegal immigrants. Although Milwaukee has not been affected, large cities are already seeing a surge in illegal immigrants, and small cities will eventually be impacted.
According to the latest RealClearPolitics Poll Average, Trump leads Biden by 3 percentage points. In key swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, Trump leads by 3.3, 1.7, and 4.5 percentage points, respectively. But for some voters, such data is irrelevant.
Jim Cousins, a retired police officer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, declined to say who he is going to vote for in the upcoming election. “No politician ever changed my life,” Cousins said.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: Xinhua
