Here’s what some swing-state voters say about the Democratic National Convention

To gauge voters’ reactions, The Post sent out an email to participants in a spring poll of registered voters in six battleground states in conjunction with George Mason University’s Schar School. The callout asked voters to explain: “What stood out to you most from the Democratic convention?” They were also asked to describe ideas they heard that were both good and bad. Of the 111 respondents, 75 watched or listened to the convention or news about it and were asked for their reactions, offering a glimpse at responses to the Democratic convention among potentially decisive voters, though the sample is too small to provide statistically meaningful results. “There’s more excitement and anticipation with Kamala Harris than I’ve seen since Obama,” she said. “People seem more energized and hopeful for the future.” She also listed several issues Democrats talked about that she thought would be good for the country: “Stabilizing the economy, restoring reproductive choices and rights, immigration.” A Michigan independent woman who leans Democratic noted how different the Democratic convention tone was from the Republican one. “One highlighted inclusivity and joy, and the other fear mongering and misrepresentations and outright lying.” The 70-year-old added that she found it wonderful “to see so many women in so many different positions in government come out and speak. “Most of the speeches seemed to be ad hominem attacks against Trump rather than [talking] about policy,” a 21-year-old White Republican woman in Georgia said. All of the voters contacted are part of a large pool of people The Post and Schar School have classified as “Deciders,” voters who either had not been firmly committed to President Joe Biden or Trump or whose participation in November is not wholly predictable because of their age, voting history or both. Overall, 50 of the 111 voters who responded said they had a “positive” general impression of the Democratic National Convention, while 25 were negative. Advertisement About one-third of the respondents, 36 of them, said they didn’t watch or listen to the convention or the news about it, so they were not asked for their reactions to the Democrats’ convention. Self-identified Democrats and 2020 Biden voters were more likely to watch the Democratic convention, resulting in more positive impressions of the convention. The 20-year-old Black man characterized the speech by Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, as “interesting.” He said he also liked the Obamas’ speeches and hearing Republicans speaking out against Trump. Others also praised Democrats for bringing in a lineup of Republicans such as former congressman Adam Kinzinger and Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary and aide to former first lady Melania Trump. Advertisement “The thing that stood out to me was the fact that registered Republicans came out to speak on Harris’s behalf,” said one Democrat from Wisconsin, a 21-year-old White woman. I am 100% against Trump,” said a 47-year-old White man, a Michigan Democrat who plans to vote for Harris. It was almost too much.” Some had criticisms of Harris’s message, such as one 32-year-old White man from Michigan. “Kamala Harris again has failed to outline policy proposals and tell us what she would do as president,” said the man, a Republican-leaning independent. “The things that she has stated she would do are all things that could have been worked towards during her time as Vice President but she did nothing.” Advertisement Several voters said they simply enjoyed watching the convention. And a 36-year-old White woman from Nevada who also identifies as a Democrat said simply, “The speakers were hopeful and inspiring.” – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/08/24/dnc-swing-state-voters-survey/