Thirteen Georgia swing voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2024 told researchers they view the conflict with Iran as worrisome and poorly managed. The participants — seven independents, five Republicans and one Democrat — took part in two online focus groups Tuesday night run by messaging firms Engagious and Sago for the Swing Voter Project; NPR observed both sessions.
When asked how the fighting makes them feel, voters offered words such as afraid, angry, concerned, sad and despairing. Many said they worry the war is being mishandled and will heighten economic pressures at home. Not one participant described the military action in Iran as going well so far, contradicting the president’s public claims that U.S. strikes have decimated Iran and that the conflict is “very close to over.” Rich Thau, president of Engagious and moderator of the sessions, said the group was anxious and upset about the U.S. role in the fighting.
Although focus groups are not statistically representative, they provide a window into how some pivotal voters perceive the crisis; broader polling has shown the conflict is widely unpopular nationwide.
Several attendees criticized President Trump’s handling of the confrontation. A 28-year-old independent said the president underestimated Iran and failed to anticipate its use of drones and other tactics; another participant pointed to attacks on U.S. bases and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. A younger independent also worried that advanced U.S. military equipment had been lost or destroyed.
More broadly, most participants disapproved of Trump’s performance in his second term. Many said his priorities feel out of step with their own, suggesting he appears more focused on expanding U.S. influence or personal gain than on domestic issues like jobs and affordable housing.
Economic concerns were prominent. Twelve of the 13 said they are more anxious about the economy now than before Trump returned to office, citing higher prices for food, oil, housing and health care. Several blamed recent spending choices and said promises to reduce costs have not materialized. Voters linked the war to rising energy and food prices and feared those pressures could deepen.
Other notable findings from the sessions:
– Voters generally supported Israel as a country, but only one spoke positively about Israel’s government; four viewed it negatively and the remainder were neutral.
– Nine of 13 said they are very likely to vote in the November midterms, though most remain undecided about which party they will back. Only two said they planned to vote for Democrats as a message to Trump; none said they would vote Republican specifically to support the president.
– A majority expressed concern about new data centers being built near their communities because of the water and energy those facilities require.
Overall, these Georgia swing voters described a mix of anxiety and frustration: skepticism about the administration’s conduct of the Iran conflict, worry about economic fallout at home, and unease about local infrastructure decisions that strain resources.