Survey Finds Voters ‘Anxious,’ ‘Overwhelmed’ in Wake of 2024 Election

WASHINGTON — More than four months after the 2024 election, many voters are feeling anxious and overwhelmed by the abrupt change of direction the country has experienced since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, a new analysis finds.

However the study from Center Forward, a nonprofit that advocates for bipartisan policies in the federal government, is far from just a confirmation of the left’s hand-wringing.

Despite a feeling of what one might characterize as a feeling of high anxiety in some quarters, about half of the voters surveyed for Center Forward by GS Strategy Group and Breakthrough Campaigns, expressed hope for the future, and many said they were excited by Trump’s speedy delivery of his campaign promises.

Perhaps most surprising of all in this divisive era, a number of voters described themselves as open-minded when it came to alternative perspectives on political, moral or personal issues.

And many of those spoke at length about instances where they either changed their own view on an issue after speaking with someone with whom they initially disagreed, or they at least gained respect for the other person’s position.

Center Forward undertook its analysis of the 2024 election as part of its mission “to cultivate meaningful conversations” among elected officials representing both political parties. 

For the study, the organization and its research and data partners engaged 30 individuals before and immediately after the election, and then one more time, a month into the new administration.

The goal each time was to hear from voters — in this case, those who did not vote in primaries, but do participate in general elections — about how they regard the current political climate and what they expect it to be going forward.

In the end, over a two-day period in mid-February, the researchers compiled a series of qualitative journals, capturing the voters’ thoughts and experiences surrounding the 2024 election.

The research ultimately found those who supported Trump did so because they were dissatisfied with the economy and with inflation, and believed he would be able to improve these issues as president. 

But while voters were willing to believe in Trump, they also spoke of a continued erosion of their trust in the electoral system, the political system and the media.

A number of voters also said they made their voting decision based on their opposition to other candidates and negative character judgements of other candidates, rather than feeling excited about their choice.

Interestingly, for all the emphasis that’s often placed on negative advertising and tearing down one’s opponent, many voters reported such tactics are a major turnoff and a source of election fatigue.

Over time, this resulted in an increasing prevalence of news avoidance among voters.

Throughout it all, voters revealed a tendency to avoid cross-party dialogue — unless they felt they could “win” the debate.

The fact they voted at all, many said, was more an expression of their sense of civic duty than anything else.

Trump voters in blue states and Harris voters in red states both believed their vote for the top of the ticket “didn’t matter,” but there was a strong belief that they could still be a factor in races lower down on the ticket.

After the election, news avoidance became a coping mechanism for voters processing disappointment with the election results.

What’s more, they came away from the election believing those on “their side” made logical choices when they decided on their candidate, while those on the other side were “irrational” or based their vote on emotion rather than commonsense.

The post-inauguration surveys were also revealing. 

The majority of participants still believe that everything is too expensive, and that Trump should make the economy, and particularly, the cost of living, his first priority.

They also believed that concern over the economy — over “pocketbook issues” — could ultimately be a catalyst for bringing Americans together again — common household pain, in essence, serving to break down barriers and lead to consensus on a range of issues.

At the same time, however, many — including some of Trump most ardent supporters among the survey participants, disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy so far, citing anxiety about tariffs or frustration that inflation has not yet improved. 

Voters also expressed mixed views on DOGE’s efforts to decrease federal spending. 

On the one hand, many agreed that the federal government is too big and that cutting spending could eliminate government waste. On the other hand, they were upset about the way DOGE is cutting spending without following proper procedures and were afraid that it could impact key programs and benefits. 

Still, voters hope and expect Trump to deliver on improving the economy by bringing down the cost of living. Despite the turmoil of the past month, voters still want change. They believe that Trump ran on improving the economy and curbing inflation, and they expect him to deliver. 

Throughout the election cycle, Trump and his supporters spoke often about the country “going in the wrong direction.”

Now that he’s president again, a number of survey participants said much the same thing about his foreign policy agenda.

Some were upset that Trump was alienating key allies, such as Europe and Canada, with his expansionism and his views on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Others questioned how getting involved in complicated foreign entanglements in Gaza would advance his campaign promise to put “America first.”

Still Trump is not alone in inspiring the ire of the electorate.

Many of the survey participants said they’ve long associated the Democratic Party with promoting equity and preserving democracy, but the Democratic voters in the group said they aren’t really sure what the party stands for these days.

At the same time, they told the researchers, they desperately want to see better messaging and more resistance to the Trump agenda.

Asked to characterize the Republican Party, a majority of survey participants described the GOP as being the party of traditional values and liberty; however, they also said they wanted to see party members exhibit greater empathy toward the disadvantaged.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and on X @DanMcCue