Focus Groups

Focus Group Report: The Midterms Were Not Top of Mind For Lower-Motivated Voters One Week After the Election

December 6, 2022
Bryan Bennett

Post-election focus groups with ticket-splitters and lower-motivation voters reveal lack of recall on election outcomes; Voters want leaders in Washington to focus on inflation relief.

Methodology

Key takeaways

  • The midterm elections were not top of mind, and few could recall which party won control of each chamber.
  • Abortion was seen as a driving issue in the midterm elections to these participants, with important nuances on how important the issue was to their vote.
  • The parties diverge dramatically on priorities and hopes for Washington.
  • For non-voters, voting is not inconvenient, but rather pointless or suspicious.

Midterms Are Not Top of Mind When Thinking About the Country

In Fact, Not Many Can Recall the Impact on Control

Abortion Seen As a Driving Issue for the Midterms

Though Participants Have Nuanced Views on How Important Abortion Is to Them Personally

Participants Agree That Divided Control Will Lead to Gridlock

People Want Collaboration From Washington, Along With Health Care and Inflation Relief

Republicans Want to Stop Biden

When Deciding Whether to Vote, Republicans Invariably Think About Election Integrity

Democratic Non-Voters are Fatalistic About Whether Voting Makes a Difference

Even Some Non-Voters Struggle With Not Voting and Agree “You Can’t Complain” if You Don’t Vote

Reminders to Vote Are Merely Tolerated

Ticket-Splitters Cite Candidate Specific Motivations Rather Than Abstractions

Trump Is Not Much of A Factor and Even His Fans Are Not Excited About Him Running Again

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About The Study

GBAO conducted three online focus groups on November 16, 2022 with low motivation Democrats in North Carolina, low motivation Republicans in Arizona, and ticket splitters in battleground states. Some quotes have been lightly edited for brevity. Qualitative results are not statistically projectable.