Swing state voters who could determine the 2024 election

In US elections, it’s not just who you vote for, but also where you live.

The 2024 presidential race will likely come down to seven key battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

Given the expected tight margins, people living in these states will be the most sought after in political campaigns.

As Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump vie for her attention, here’s what swing state voters had to say about the at-times stressful role they play.

This small business owner from western Pennsylvania is a registered Democrat who plans to vote for Harris.

I’m out in the rural parts of the state and there’s a lot of support for Trump out here. But there are also many people who, at a certain point, simply no longer accept certain things. The way many of us grew up here, he did things that just weren’t right.

[The political advertising] is more annoying than anything else because in the end everyone knows that the advertising is full of lies.

We may be playing kingmaker here. It’s pretty nerve-wracking knowing that we’re going to play such a big role because there are a lot of people who are just so burned out on everything…

It’s very strange to know that your neighbors are likely to have a big influence on what happens around the world in the next four years.

Andy lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The retired Marine plans to vote for Trump, whom he supported in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

A neighbor across the street might have two Trump signs and the neighbor next door might have four Harris signs. It’s like a battle to see who can overtake the other person.

Being at the top of the vote every year is cool in a way because it puts us on the map, but not necessarily always for the best things.

I recently moved back [to Pennsylvania] in 2018. When I went to visit my now wife in 2016, I saw Trump signs everywhere and thought: He’s going to win.

In 2020 I’ve seen fewer Trump signs and I just feel like there’s no way he’s going to win. Now it’s 50-50. I have no idea what will happen.

This independent voter has lived in Wisconsin her entire life. The 74-year-old is retired and plans to vote for Harris.

We are constantly bombarded with political ads on television… I actually saw a large, illuminated Trump sign while I was shopping. I was kind of shocked by that. It’s a huge sign.

I’m just very suspicious of what’s going on with a lot of the people in the ads. It just got a lot worse. The advertising has become terrible…the distortion is so over the top.

I’m definitely voting for Harris and I’m worried because it seems like MAGA [Trump’s Make America Great Again movement] can really distort things and confuse people so easily.

This engineer from swing state Michigan is a Democrat who plans to vote for Harris in November.

I have never voted Republican in my life, and I still receive letters addressed to me from the Republican Party in my mailbox almost every day. It’s non-stop, incessant up here and it’s exhausting.

I want to say that it is really discouraging [to carry the weight of a swing state] because I personally believe in a ranked-choice style of voting and not necessarily the Electoral College.

Being part of a state where there’s a little more head-to-head and determination, it’s one of those places where I can understand that people really need to get out there and make their voices heard. But it shouldn’t just focus on this condition. In every state, a similar number of people should want to get out, vote and make their voices heard.

Jonathan is a teacher who became a US citizen this year. He plans to cast his first vote for Trump.

I generally don’t understand this – it doesn’t change much when a Republican or a Democrat becomes president. I don’t fully understand the hysteria.

I don’t think there are many people my age that I’m with who are desperate for one of the candidates. Trump talks about the treatment of migrants compared to the abortion issue and the treatment of the unborn. I conclude that Trump is the lesser evil than Kamala Harris in this regard.

I hardly watch typical American television. We probably get more mail in the house, but that’s because I’m registered to vote now, so I see more. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly common.

This independent voter supported Biden in the last presidential election and plans to vote for Harris this year. Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020.

It seems to me that Trump voters are more likely to be on public display. They have their flags. They have their signs. They have their bumper stickers. I don’t know if they’re proud or trying to convince everyone else to do something, but it seems like you’re seeing that more often.

I’ve seen a few Harris signs and I like them. But I think that the people who support Harris are not that pushy.

Sometimes I get nervous because I want Harris to win, but I tell myself, “There’s one thing I can do. There is only one thing I can do and that is to cast my vote and that is all I can do.”

This independent voter is a greenskeeper at a golf course in Michigan and plans to reluctantly support Trump in the election.

I live in a rural area, so it’s very, very Trumpy up here. It’s almost embarrassing because there are a lot of tourists up here and you think: You’re going to hang so much Trump stuff on your walls?

I mentioned to my wife that I was the one targeted by the campaigns. I am an independent voter in a swing state. When it comes down to it, I just consider myself a drop in the ocean.

I understand the way the Electoral College works, and I’m in a state of transition, so my vote is a little unusually more valuable than it normally would be. But I try not to think about it that way. I’m just a normal guy casting my vote like everyone else.

This 34-year-old teacher in swing state Georgia is an independent voter who plans to vote for Harris.

I’m definitely worried. I know this is a really close race between our two candidates.

Political advertising is everywhere. Every streaming service, every YouTube video, everything has advertising. I’ve noticed that the Harris-Walz campaign is definitely doing more advertising than I noticed with the Trump-Vance campaign here in Georgia.

I find it exciting. I’m glad Georgia is a competitive state. For so long it was decidedly red and decidedly Republican.

It’s exciting to have this kind of conversation and know that my voice is a little bit more important and that it’s more important than maybe it traditionally has been. It motivates me to participate in the political process.

This paralegal from Beaver, Pennsylvania – the swing state with the highest number of electoral votes – is a Democrat who will vote for Harris.

I’m trying to stay optimistic, but I’m still pretty worried because it’s Pennsylvania and there’s division all around you.

I guess that’s what continues to concern me, living in Pennsylvania and knowing how important Pennsylvania is to this federal election. I hate to see how purple it is now.

It feels like a responsibility to come from such a state. The talk about being in Pennsylvania and the burden of how many delegates we have and all of that – it’s really wild.