Welcome to the online version of From the Policy Deska nightly newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News politics team on the campaign, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, national political reporter Ben Kamisar looks at our latest focus group of a key bloc of Georgia voters. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd explores who has the most to lose in Thursday’s debate.
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Why Fed-Up Georgia Voters Are Looking Beyond Biden and Trump
By Ben Kamisar
It’s not just a protest vote.
That’s something a group of Georgia voters considering third-party presidential candidates wanted to make clear during an NBC News Deciders Focus Group this week, produced in collaboration with Engaging, Syracuse University It is Sago.
Seven of the 10 swing state voters who participated all voted for either of the two donald trump or Joe Biden in 2020, are currently planning to support independent initiatives Robert F. Kennedy Jr.while two support Professor Cornel West and one supports Libertarian Chase Oliver.
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But as Margaret Talev, one of our partners on this project, told me: While we’ve already heard from curious RFK Jr. voters, this group has gone further.
“We have been asking our focus group participants about RFK every month, and most so far have seen him as an alternative to Biden or Trump or know the name Kennedy but admit they don’t know much about his background or platform. Georgia voters looked different,” Talev said. “They indicated they are learning details about his positions, from vaccines to foreign policy, and having opportunities to hear or see him more.”
These voters didn’t have much to say about Biden or Trump. Biden’s age appears to be a major obstacle for them, as does concern that he has not governed the way he said he would as a candidate (heard from both the left and right).
And for Trump, it’s his personality as well as his conduct surrounding the 2020 election – the attack on the US Capitol and his repeated false claims that he won, especially in Georgia.
But the group praised Kennedy, not just for being an outsider, but also for his legal career, environmentalism and rhetoric about assuming consolidated powers. And even among those who are not satisfied with their stance on vaccinesthey still found reasons to support him.
“So many people are voting against each other, they’re voting for the lesser of two evils and I just don’t want to be that person,” said Sherri D., 50, of Roswell, who supported Trump. in 2020, but is now leaning toward Kennedy.
“I want to actually research and learn and I want to vote for the person, in my conscience, I want to really win, even if they don’t have a chance or even if people think they don’t have a chance,” she added.
Read more from our latest voter focus group →
Who has the most to lose in tomorrow’s debate?
By Chuck Todd
The hardest part about trying to gauge the potential impact of the first presidential debate is figuring out which candidate needs it most. A month ago, the answer was obvious: Biden. His team wouldn’t have pushed to hold a debate sooner if they hadn’t come to the conclusion that they needed to do something to shake up this race before the fall.
But one conviction in 34 counts later and it’s not so clear right now which candidate needs this debate most. Why does this matter? Because the less a debate matters at the moment to a candidate, the more risk-averse that candidate will become in the debate itself.
Based on my conversations with smart people on both sides of the aisle, both campaigns feel a calm confidence about where they stand in the summer and in this debate. That wasn’t the case in Biden world just a month ago.
The small but notable shift toward Biden in several polls gave his campaign the first evidence that Trump’s legal troubles may be affecting his vote share. Add in the recent positive data indicating a drop in violent crime across the country, as well as in this durable economy, and we can see why Team Biden is as optimistic about winning re-election today as they have been for over a year.
But even as Biden has become stronger, Trump has also become stronger. Although he took a very small (and potentially significant) hit in the polls following his conviction, his massive fundraising over the past month has allowed him to level the playing field with Biden much sooner than the campaign expected.
Both sides would love for the post-debate conversation to be about the other candidate. Team Trump would love for Biden’s age to become the dominant conversation, while team Biden would love for Trump’s erratic behavior to be the post-debate focal point.
That’s all from the Department of Politics for now. If you have feedback – like or dislike – send us an email at newsletter@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
