Focus groups: Deep anxiety about the economy drives undecided voters in two key Senate races

Concerns about the economy and high costs are driving the thinking of undecided voters in Iowa and Georgia, according to new focus group conversations, as two states that will be central to the fight for the Senate barrel toward Election Day.

“Nothing has gotten better as far as the cost of living, inflation — food is astronomical, gas,” said Patty O., a 59-year-old Georgia Republican who voted for Donald Trump in 2024. “The cost of living is so high right now.”

Patty was among a dozen voters up for grabs in two Senate races who participated this week in focus groups produced by Syracuse University and the research firms Engagious and Sago and observed by NBC News. The group comprised six independents, five Republicans and one Democrat. Nine voted for Trump for president two years ago, when he won both states, while three supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

All but three of the voters said they feel more anxious about the economy today than when Trump returned to office. Eight said Trump is not focused enough on the issue.

These voters’ anxieties reflect recent polling detailing broad concerns about the state of the economy — and Trump’s handling of it. Unlike a poll, which uses statistical methods to demonstrate how a larger population feels, focus groups dig deeper into how a handful of people feel about key questions facing the country.

With less than three months until the midterm elections, these voters were still weighing whom to support in the Senate races, though some have picked favorites for governor. But the economy will loom large in their decisions.

Asked whether the economy will be a major consideration in their votes in November, all but one said yes.

“Among these undecided voters, pervasive economic anxiety is the animating issue in the midterms — not Iran, not immigration, not Israel/Gaza,” said Rich Thau of Engagious, who moderated the sessions.

Economic anxiety

Overall, eight of the 12 undecided voters said they disapproved of Trump’s job performance during his second term, even though a majority of the disapprovers voted for him in 2024. The most common criticisms focused on his stewardship of the economy.

Jamie G., a 55-year-old Iowa independent who voted for Trump, said he is “disillusioned with pretty much everything he’s done since he took office.”

“He was going to end conflicts on the first day, which he didn’t do. Instead, he’s gotten us into needless wars. His tariffs have caused prices — it’s been like a tax on things for the American people,” he said.

“He’s more worried about his vanity projects, like the reflecting pool and his ballroom, than he is with the real problems in this country,” Jamie G. added.

Those who broadly approved of Trump’s tenure pointed to his immigration policies or how they saw him as different from other politicians.

Tyler R., a 24-year-old Iowa Republican who voted for Trump, said he approves of about 60% of what Trump has done in office, appreciating “more discipline regarding our country’s immigration policy,” as well as his attempt to “start negotiations with Russia, however successful those have been.” However, he added that he has also been “frustrated” by Trump, raising concerns about tariffs’ increasing prices and about the war in Iran.

Others echoed those sentiments about the stock market’s performance, like Drew G., a 59-year-old Georgia Republican.

“Financially speaking, I keep looking at my investments, my 401(k), and it keeps going up,” he said, adding that Trump is “not as much of a politician as some people are. He may say some things that get people frustrated, myself included, but he doesn’t really care what he says. He’s not trying to get anybody’s approval.”

Others saw the stock market’s gains as a double-edged sword.

“I have extensively made a lot of money in investments, so that’s the only positive. And the positive of that obviously didn’t outweigh the negative,” said Jennifer B., a 43-year-old Iowa independent who voted for Trump.

“I’m making a ridiculous amount of money, that’s for sure, but I can’t spend that,” she said. “It is just in stocks … and it’s for the future.”

Later in the focus group, Jennifer B., like more than half the participants, said that Trump isn’t focused enough on improving the economy and that she was frustrated by his lack of delivery on his campaign promises to bring prices down.

“It’s not like it’s unusual from a politician, but those are pretty big deals to promise and then not fulfill those promises,” she said.

These voters’ economic anxiety spanned all facets of their lives. They detailed worries about the cost of healthcare, gas, food, utilities and everything in between. Some are forgoing major purchases, cutting back on things that bring them joy or doing things like selling a laptop to cover bills.

Sarah M., a 47-year-old Iowa voter who backed Harris in 2024 and used to consider herself a Democrat before she became an independent, said middle-class Americans like her are “being killed” by the economy.

“My taxes dang near bankrupted us last year; we didn’t see any benefit of that. Our groceries, I have to drive 45 minutes just to be able to afford my groceries, but then you’re dealing with the gas prices on top of that,” she said.

Patty O., the Georgia Republican, said she stopped buying orange juice and gave up her membership at a boutique gym, “which I loved going to, but I couldn’t justify the cost anymore.”

“Even my utilities have gone up tremendously since last summer, and I don’t know what’s next. What else can I do to lower the cost or make more money?” she asked.

Few voters said the Iran war was top of mind, but some pointed to the drawn-out conflict as a reason they are frustrated with Trump or as something that is hurting their wallets.

Drew G. of Georgia said the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz is “getting us less supplies over here, less gas over here. So the prices are going up a lot. I see it every time I go to the grocery store.”

Midterm choices

A majority of these voters disapproved of Trump and almost all were anxious about the economy, and half of them said their views of him would factor into their votes in the midterm.

“We heard real disappointment and frustration with President Trump for getting the U.S. into a war that’s made things more expensive and for perceptions he’s too distracted by vanity projects or political fights to focus on pocketbook issues,” said Margaret Talev, director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship at Syracuse University, which hosts the focus group project.

“Still, most of these voters simply weren’t thinking tactically about using their midterm ballots to keep the White House in check. So Democrats shouldn’t assume rising anti-Trump sentiment will carry them in House, Senate or governor’s races,” Talev added.

But negative views of Trump and the economy could present an opening among some voters like Tyler R., the Iowa Republican who broadly approved of Trump’s presidency but did raise concern about prices.

Tyler said he sees political polarization as “a big problem” and would be drawn to a candidate who wants to work across the aisle.

“I can count on one hand the number of Democrats that I voted for,” Tyler said. “I would consider voting for someone in the Democratic Senate race probably more because of what I’ve observed from the first two years of Trump’s presidency than I would in the past.”

But Tyler and most of the other Iowa panelists could not identify Democratic nominee Josh Turek, a state representative, when they were shown his picture, nor could they say much about him.

A few identified Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee, with one noting that she had been a local TV news anchor. One voter said he believed Hinson was more moderate than the average Republican.

Iowa Senate Candidate Ashley Hinson Votes On Primary Day — Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican Senate candidate, in Marion, Iowa, on June 2.Stephen Maturen / Getty Images file

Four of the five Iowa panelists said they would support Democrats’ pick for governor, State Auditor Rob Sand.

“He seems to be more middle of the road and more willing to work with Republicans,” said MacKenzie R., a 34-year-old Iowa Republican who voted for Trump.

Like other voters in both panels, MacKenzie raised concerns about Democrats’ moving too far to the left, saying, “What makes me nervous about them are the ones who are more on the socialist side.” But she viewed Sand as a different kind of Democrat, saying he has a “bipartisan attitude.”

MacKenzie also sharply criticized the GOP nominee for governor, businessman Zach Lahn. Echoing Democratic attacks, she said Lahn “spends a lot of time in Kansas and seems like he lives there more than he lives in Iowa.”

The Georgia voters in the focus group still wanted to learn more about their two Senate candidates, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and GOP Rep. Mike Collins, before they make their decisions. Most did not know much about Collins beyond his strong support for Trump.

Three of them have already decided to support Republican Rick Jackson in the governor’s race, pointing to his rise from the foster care system to billionaire businessman, with one voter saying Jackson “pulled himself up by the bootstraps.” The others were undecided in the race between Jackson and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee.

While most voters said the economy would be a major factor in their votes, a few named other issues, including the war in Iran and data centers, a burgeoning issue in this year’s elections.

Ron S., a 43-year-old Georgia independent who voted for Trump, said he would support a candidate who favors “minimizing the infrastructure of data centers and also finding ways to prevent further harm to the environment,” raising concerns that they also cause electricity prices to spike and limit access to reliable power sources.

Patty O., the Georgia Republican, said she had a more positive view, saying, “I do think that data centers bring jobs.”

Still, the economy remained the most important issue for these voters, like Alice N., a 47-year-old Georgia Republican who backed Trump.

“I’m leaning more towards voting for somebody that is going to do more for the economy — to bring the cost of living down, to bring gas prices down, make it cheaper to go to the grocery store and do all those kinds of things,” she said.

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