NPR reported Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, the results of focus groups tracking swing voters throughout the year. The study, part of the Swing Voter Project, focused on a sliver of the electorate: individuals who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and subsequently supported Donald Trump in 2024.
The project used monthly online focus groups throughout 2026 to track political views. These sessions were managed by the messaging firm Engagious and the market research recruiting firm Nelson Recruiting, with NPR serving as a project partner.
Participants in the focus groups indicated they had soured on Trump shortly after the election, though the report noted that Democratic candidates were also not popular with these voters. The researchers found that these voters attributed their feelings about the current economy to Trump's policy decisions.
Additional findings showed a shared interest in economic populism among voters on both the left and right of the political spectrum. The focus groups also revealed concern regarding the growth of data centers and the development of artificial intelligence.
The findings affect candidates and political parties in swing states. The project tracked voters who shifted their support from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024. For these households, the reported data suggests that personal perceptions of the economy are tied to presidential actions, which influenced their decision to switch parties between cycles.
The results highlight a change in voter priorities toward economic populism and technological concerns, such as artificial intelligence. The report also indicated that neither major political party holds a clear popularity advantage with this specific group of swing voters.
The study concludes just ahead of Election Day 2026. An hour-long discussion regarding these five takeaways was scheduled for release following the Oct. 30 report. No further dates for future focus groups or specific legislative deadlines related to the findings were reported.