Swing Voter Project: Edina, Minnesota

19 Oct Swing Voter Project: Edina, Minnesota

For the August edition of the Engagious/Focus Pointe Global Swing Voter Project, we traveled to Minnesota, where Midwest Nice is Above Average.

In Edina we met with 11 swing voters: four who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, and Hillary Clinton in 2016; and seven who voted for Barack Obama in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2016.

If you’ve been following this project you already know that we’re traveling to swing voters each month, leading up to the 2020 election. What are these voters thinking about? How are they feeling about things political? What moves them?

We’re uncovering fascinating findings, one of which is that “Midwest swing voter” is a different flavor in each of the states we’ve visited so far: Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota. (It’s news for coastal Americans, that is. If you live in the Midwest, you know that already.)

They’d like to be able to vote for a Democrat in the center. They don’t want radical proposals or pipe dreams.

How does President Trump make them feel?
confident
embarrassed
happy
disgusted

What’s top of mind for our Edina swing voters?
health care—it’s not affordable, and too many people can’t get it
immigration/wall—they’re glad someone is doing something about it
global warming
lower taxes
student loans

Assault weapons ban?
Respondents were mixed on conceal-carry, but unanimously in favor of an assault weapons ban (no discussion of how broadly or narrowly the term would be defined).

Is climate change a thing?
You betcha.

There’s more. Go here for clips and the full report.

Next month the team heads back to Wisconsin.