LOS ANGELES, US - Less than a month out from the knife-edge US presidential election, no group of voters is attracting more attention from the campaigns than the tiny sliver of the electorate that is still undecided.
While many people long ago made up their mind between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, a small percentage of the population is still grappling with their choice. These voters "have a hard time deciding. They don't like to be rushed, and they have equal disdain for both major presidential candidates," said Rich Thau, who heads a consultancy called Engagious.
Thau has been running focus groups in the seven battleground states that are likely to decide this November's presidential election -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Everyone they recruit to take part is a swing voter -- someone who voted for Republican Trump in 2016 and for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Engagious gathers a demographic cross-section of citizens from a particular state each month, who meet on Zoom for a guided discussion about the issues at play.
These conversations have given Thau and his colleagues valuable insights into the minds of people who haven't yet decided how to cast their ballots. That includes how they felt about the July earthquake of Biden's withdrawal and his replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket by Harris.
"They're forced to choose between someone they don't like and someone they don't know very well," he said. That perfectly describes how 55-year-old Lisa feels.
"I am watching the news constantly and I'm getting burnout for it," said the insurance broker, who, like all participants in the focus groups can only be identified by her given name.
- Temperament -
She trusts Trump more on the economy, which she feels was better when he was in power, but worries about his character and temperament.
"I'm afraid he would go back and retaliate against people who he perceived slighted him in any way -- go after Stormy Daniels, go after all these people that he threw under a bus and just spawn hatred again and negativity against different populations, racism, certain religious groups," she said.
On the other hand, as someone with strong religious beliefs, she finds Harris's support for abortion rights to be problematic.
"I have a very difficult time with that topic," she told the Pennsylvania focus group this week.
Bob, a 45-year-old from the state, said he felt he had no idea who Harris actually is. "I don't know where she stands on anything truly deep down. I don't know," he said.
"She was a good prosecutor and she did a couple of things as attorney general (of California), but it doesn't really help me get a sense of what she can do for the whole country in general."
- Abortion -
Glenda, a 41-year-old woman, said she was inclined to support Harris at this stage, but remained skeptical. "I'm leaning, but I'm not there yet," she said, adding: "Is she going to keep her promises?... That's my biggest worry; is she going to stand firm?" As a woman, she says she likes Harris's stance on abortion rights, but it's not the only thing that she'll base her decision on. As far as Trump is concerned, she has real worries over his policies on the environment.
"Climate change is a big one for me. And I remember him very specifically saying when he was president that it was a myth." Swing voter Greg says he fears Trump doesn't have any real convictions.
He "can be very irrational at times with his speech, with his positions, with his actions, and also he's easily influenced and can be swayed," the 47-year-old said.
On the other hand, he thinks Harris has been thrust into the race without any kind of popular support. "She was not voted by her constituents to be the president of the United States for the Democratic Party. She was put in that position and that's very undemocratic," he said.
And, despite her having served as deputy to a sitting president for more than three years, he's not sure Harris is qualified. "What scares me about her is her lack of experience at a position like the presidency," he said.
For the insurance agent, Lisa, this election is a missed opportunity for more capable candidates. "I have to vote, but I feel like I wish we could do better," she said. - AFP