These swing voters regret voting for Trump and it's influencing their midterm choices

📲Follow the midterms & more in the NPR App Some key voters say deep frustration and disappointment with President Trump are motivating their election plans just weeks before Election Day. NPR observed two online focus groups Tuesday night with 12 Georgians who voted for President Biden in 2020 and then supported Trump in 2024. Almost every voter — 11 out of 12 — said they were disappointed with the overall job Trump has been doing.

And 10 said they regret voting for him. "I've been disappointed," said Charles P., 43, who identified as a Democrat. (The voters participated under the condition their last names would not be used.) "I just don't feel like there's any positive to this administration at all," he continued. "Inflation has only gotten worse, there've been more wars.

The tariffs haven't done anything. It seems like we have more enemies now than ever. I just don't see anything positive with his tenure." Richard A., a 56-year-old Republican, said he's been out of work for 10 months and there is a long list of problems he sees with the direction of the country under Trump.

"Food crisis, starting the war with Iran, inflation," he said. "ICE immigration has just torn families apart, has caused deaths. ... It just seems like everything has gone downhill." The comments align with Trump's faltering approval rating and a darkening midterm outlook for Republicans.

Trump has picked up his campaign travel in recent days, touting his record and arguing for the GOP to retain control in Washington. These focus groups with swing voters are conducted every month in battleground states across the country. They are run by messaging firm Engagious and market research recruiting firm Nelson Recruiting.

NPR partners with them each month as part of the Swing Voter Project. Focus groups are not scientifically significant like polls, but they do provide insight into what voters are thinking. And in this case, they provide some insight into how voters are deciding who they are supporting this fall.