



Undecided Voters Share Their Biggest Worries Ahead of Election Day - The New York Times
  





























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Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris are starkly different presidential candidates. So why are so many voters —  roughly 1 in 6 — still unsure of their choice? We asked voters who have not yet made up their minds — 830 of them across five battleground states and Ohio — to name their biggest worries with both candidates.  Here is what they said.  Concern about Trump “He’s made people comfortable with being racist and set the country back 50 years with racism.” Concern about Harris “She’s a liar and it feels like she hasn’t done anything she said she was going to do.” Black woman, 50s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “Don’t like his rhetoric, how he speaks to people.” Concern about Harris “Incompetent, no experience in foreign policy or running the government; also has no opinions except on abortion.” White woman, 70s, Wisconsin  Concern about Trump “Too extreme.” Concern about Harris “I don’t know much about her, but I’m unsure about how prepared she is to be president.” Hispanic man, 30s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “Having the right to control my own body.” Concern about Harris “Immigration and inflation.” Black woman, 20s, Georgia  Concern about Trump “Arrogance.” Concern about Harris “She’s a woman and not sure if a woman should be running.” White woman, 50s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “Has felonies on his record.” Concern about Harris “Don’t know much about her policy.” Black man, 50s, Georgia  Concern about Trump “I don’t trust him.” Concern about Harris “I don’t trust her.” Black woman, 60s, Georgia     Undecided Voters Tell Us About Their Biggest Worries By Ruth Igielnik and  Christine Zhang  Oct. 4, 2024    Until President Joe Biden dropped his bid for re-election, a large share of voters were unhappy with their choices for president.Today, the electorate as a whole is happier, but the uncommitted voters are still not, according to recent polling by The New York Times and Siena College in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.They trust neither former President Donald J. Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris. They question the candidates’ honesty and ethics.    









				What, if anything, is your biggest concern about Donald Trump?
			


Among undecided and persuadable voters


Personality/behavior


No biggest concern


Ethics/honesty


Ability to do the job


Threat to democracy


Race/racism/sexism


Court cases/convictions


Abortion


Immigration


Other


10


20


30%



				What, if anything, is your biggest concern about Kamala Harris?
			


Among undecided and persuadable voters


Honesty/trustworthiness


Judgment/character


No biggest concern


Economy


Lack of experience


Ideology


Need to know more


Immigration


Track record


Other


10


20


30%








				What, if anything, is your biggest concern about Donald Trump?
			


Among undecided and persuadable voters


Personality/behavior


No biggest concern


Ethics/honesty


Ability to do the job


Threat to democracy


Race/racism/sexism


Court cases/convictions


Abortion


Immigration


Other


10


20


30%



				What, if anything, is your biggest concern about Kamala Harris?
			


Among undecided and persuadable voters


Honesty/trustworthiness


Judgment/character


No biggest concern


Economy


Lack of experience


Ideology


Need to know more


Immigration


Track record


Other


10


20


30%





    Based on New York Times/Siena College polls of 4,132 likely voters conducted in September, including 830 undecided or not fully decided voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. Respondents who said they didn’t know or who declined to say are not included.   These voters are younger than the electorate overall, less educated and have a lower income. They are much more likely than voters overall to be Black or Latino, and a little more likely to be men.Some of these voters may just stay home, but a meaningful portion of them will probably vote. And in a close election, they could be the deciding factor.In trying to understand what is holding them back from committing, we asked voters to tell us in their own words about their worries. Their phrases were telling: “being a bully,” “she’s an idiot.”In many ways, their words suggest that voters know, and perhaps have become inured to, Donald Trump’s slash-and-burn campaign style and personality.But with Kamala Harris, who was plunged into the race only in July, their fears are wider ranging — encompassing both character and the issues, like the economy. And for some voters, the historic nature of her candidacy presents not progress but a drawback.Voters are concerned about one thing when it comes to Trump: his character. They said he is arrogant or erratic and talks too much. They talked about his age or criminal trials. The words boiled down to concerns about the former president’s personality and honesty.Even voters who said they were leaning toward Trump mentioned concerns about chaos and dysfunction.A small but notable share were also concerned, specifically, about his ability to carry out and complete the tasks of president, mentioning his age and mental capacity. Concern about Trump “Angered easily.”  White man, 40s, Michigan  Concern about Trump “Being a bully towards other nations.”  White man, 60s, Georgia  Concern about Trump “He is erratic, not very well-spoken and lies.”  White man, 40s, North Carolina  Concern about Trump “Him staying off the internet.”  White man, 30s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “Being presidential, sense of decorum, way he communicates.”  Man, 60s, Michigan  Concern about Trump “Does not know when to shut up.”  White man, 20s, North Carolina  Concern about Trump “His age.”  White woman, 20s, Wisconsin   At the same time, even though Trump has crossed all kinds of red lines during his campaign, voters used comparatively mild language in describing their doubts about him. Words like “a bit” and “a little” crept in frequently. Concern about Trump “Little power hungry.”  White woman, 30s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “His authoritative tendencies.”  White man, 30s, North Carolina  Concern about Trump “Probably his rhetoric, maybe, and how he presents himself. And the debate was kind of rough.”  Woman, 40s, Michigan  Concern about Trump “Bit decisive at times. He doesn’t always say the right things.”  White man, 20s, Georgia  Concern about Trump “I wish he could be a little more presidential.”  White woman, 70s, Arizona  Concern about Trump “He might become too emotional when making decisions.”  Nonwhite man, 30s, North Carolina   Concerns about Harris are more varied. For Kamala Harris, voters’ anxieties were broader and more complicated. Although qualms about her personality came up less often than with Trump, trustworthiness and honesty were still big question marks for many voters.So was her ability to handle the economy. Voters specifically mentioned costs and inflation, a persistent concern among undecided and not fully decided voters over the last few months.  Concern about Harris “She will make the economy worse than it is.” Black man, 20s, Georgia   Concern about Harris “That she’s like every other politician, that she is not going to actually do anything to help us.” Black woman, 30s, Ohio   Concern about Harris “Bring down the price of groceries and housing.” Black woman, 60s, Georgia   Concern about Harris “How she would handle the economy.” Hispanic woman, 20s, Georgia   Concern about Harris “Too liberal.” Black woman, 50s, Michigan   Concern about Harris “Not following through.” White woman, 30s, Wisconsin   Concern about Harris “The people didn’t vote for her; she was appointed. That is not democracy.” White man, 60s, Wisconsin   Concern about Harris “Democrats take the African American vote for granted. Not sure her policies are going to benefit African Americans.” Black man, 30s, North Carolina   They also questioned her abilities and wondered if she was ready for the job. Some voters described her with caustic language, which echoes Trump’s, who called her “mentally disabled” and “mentally impaired.”Harris has not leaned into the historical nature of her candidacy — she would be the first woman of color to be president. For some of these voters, her background may be a challenge. Some voters used language that was outright sexist.  Concern about Harris “That she’s not intelligent enough to be president. I think she is an idiot.” White man, 70s, Arizona   Concern about Harris “I don’t think she’s got it all together.” White woman, 70s, Arizona   Concern about Harris “Overall untrustworthy.” Black man, 40s, North Carolina   Concern about Harris “I don’t know much about her, but I’m unsure about how prepared she is to be president.” Hispanic man, 30s, Arizona   Concern about Harris “She’s a woman. I’m not sure she can get the job done. People probably won’t listen to her.” White woman, 50s, Ohio   Concern about Harris “She’s a lady.” Black woman, 60s, Wisconsin     Sources and methodology Selected responses from New York Times/Siena College polls of 4,132 likely voters conducted in September, including 830 undecided or not fully decided voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.Undecided and persuadable voters were voters in the survey who either did not pick a presidential candidate after being asked multiple questions about their vote choice or voters who ultimately did pick a candidate but said they were only “probably” but not “definitely” going to support that candidate.Open-ended responses to the “biggest concern” question were coded into categories using a trained coder and validated with a second reviewer. The primary coder reviewed a sampling of responses and then created an initial coding schema. Categories were adjusted based on size and coherence throughout the process. Where there was disagreement between coders, proposed codes were reviewed, discussed and compared with similar examples in other surveys. To help ensure consistency, responses that exactly matched previous responses in prior surveys were automatically coded to the same category, but were still reviewed for accuracy.  


Produced by Sean Catangui. Alex Lemonides contributed to graphics.See more on: 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Kamala Harris, Donald TrumpShare full articleAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSite IndexSite Information Navigation© 2025 The New York Times CompanyNYTCoContact UsAccessibilityWork with usAdvertiseT Brand StudioYour Ad ChoicesPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceTerms of SaleSite MapCanadaInternationalHelpSubscriptionsManage Privacy Preferences



















I'm.going to assume it's Bigfoot 

On the basis of if you are still undecided after the last 8 years you must be living in a cabin in the woods.