Majority of focus group voters report higher economic anxiety
Ten of 12 Nevada swing voters who took part in two online focus groups Tuesday night said they would not automatically think negatively of a politician who identifies as a socialist, according to NPR, which observed the sessions as part of its monthly Swing Voter Project. The participants backed Joe Biden in 2020 and then cast ballots for Donald Trump in 2024, and described themselves as six independents, four Republicans and two Democrats.
“I don’t just take one thing and then label or judge somebody just for that,” said Jasmine, a 33-year-old independent voter. “I need to just get to know them completely before I make a judgment or a decision on who I’m going to vote for.” The participants agreed to take part on the condition that their last names would not be used.
Melody, a 37-year-old independent, added: “I wouldn’t immediately think bad of someone. I would want to talk a little bit more about it with them because … to me, they’re at least trying to think of a solution where everybody has rights and everybody has food, everybody has a house, everybody has a job. They’re at least looking for something like that for everyone.”
The group offered its views on Tuesday, the day of the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, which the self-described democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly lost. The sessions come amid a debate in the Democratic Party over whether recent wins by democratic socialist candidates will spell trouble with more centrist voters in November.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about a third of Democratic voters view democratic socialist leaders positively and that a plurality of all Americans neither like nor dislike democratic socialist politicians.
The focus groups were held by messaging firm Engagious and marketing research group Nelson Recruiting. NPR partners with them each month as part of the Swing Voter Project. Rich Thau, the president of Engagious, moderated both sessions and said he was surprised that so few of the voters — who he said “tend to be attracted to more centrist political positions” — said they would not think negatively about a candidate who identified as a socialist.
“I was struck by the receptivity that they had toward democratic socialism as a concept, that they weren’t willing to automatically dismiss it,” Thau said. “And I thought generally that they were way more open to socialism than any swing voter otherwise would be.”
The voters were also asked to describe the difference they observe between ordinary Democrats and democratic socialists. Marianne, a 57-year-old independent, said she thinks traditional Democrats are “more centrist” and cater to more corporate interests. “But they also care about the people as well, the working people,” she said. “Whereas socialist Democrats are more about community.”
Justin, a 39-year-old independent, echoed that view, saying his gut reaction is that Democrats are more in line with business interests. “Democrat socialists will actually look at the people,” he said, “[and] where they can give back to the programs and the people and actually break them off a piece of that revenue.” Some participants said they struggled with the definition of socialism or did not know enough to explain the difference.
Freddy, a 34-year-old independent, was one of two voters who said they view socialists negatively, though he offered that socialists were more likely than Democrats to “aggressively target the wealthy for more money for the good of all.” Overall, he said, socialists hold radical positions. “Anything that far left, it’s not for me,” he said. “It’s too extreme.”
The 12 voters were roughly split on approving of Trump’s job performance, yet 10 of them said they feel more economically anxious now than when Trump took office last year, and seven reported carrying a higher debt load now than a year ago. Thau connected the openness to socialism with that anxiety.
“It’s sort of the economic version of any port in a storm,” he said. “In other words, these people are struggling economically. … So they need help. And they think that socialism apparently is going to offer them the help that they’re looking for.”
Katrina, a 53-year-old independent, said it was hard to put into words why she feels so anxious, but she knows she is. “I feel anxious that nothing has really changed,” she said. “I mean, Trump talks about this ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ but, it’s like, I don’t see any difference. In my life, I don’t.”
Marianne was among those who said she is carrying more consumer debt lately. “I used to pay cash for groceries,” she said. “Sometimes I put it on credit cards because the price has just gone up so much in certain areas. And also my son lives with me. My son has worked on the [Las Vegas Strip] for 22 years and he can’t make ends meet, so I have to make the ends meet for him.” Corrina, a 51-year-old Republican, said she is stressed by rising home insurance costs, which she said have changed her mortgage payment as taxes and insurance have gone up. “We’re living paycheck to paycheck,” Jasmine added, “yet inflation is going up, things are going up.”
While the focus group participants were open-minded about socialism, they drew a line on communism. “I’m giving contempt prior to investigation with communism. You got me there,” Justin said. “It’s just ingrained from childhood. Living in the ’90s, communism, it’s very ingrained that it is negative.” Trump often uses the term “communist” to describe his political opponents, rather than “socialist.”