A national verdict on Trump 2.0 is coming. Nine midterm voters share where they stand

US voters are about to deliver their first national verdict on the second presidency of Donald Trump. On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states. The results could have a huge impact on Trump’s final two years in office.

Today, the Guardian launches its 2026 midterm voter panel. Our reporters have interviewed nine voters across the country and the political spectrum about the issues that matter to them, from the cost of living, immigration and healthcare to the war in Iran and whether they trust their political leaders.

The answers – highlights of which are published below – offer insight into the national mood with less than a month to go until election day. The Guardian will return to its voter panel before the final votes are cast.

What’s the most significant issue for you in the midterm election?

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

So, I’m an economics student, and one of the things I’ve noticed more and more is, we work more, but we seem to be getting further and further behind. Why is it that my grandfather could work an eight-hour union job and have enough to take care of five or six kids, and yet I work the same job and I’m struggling to get by? That makes no sense to me. I don’t understand why so many CEOs are saying companies are making record profits while people have to have two and three jobs.

Yajaira Martinez 43; Pharr, Texas; independent/disaffected Trump voter

My biggest hit that I’m having right now is labor. I don’t have labor. I don’t have workers that can, you know, finish the houses as fast as we used to. It causes a ripple effect when it comes to supply and demand – houses taking longer, interest rates going higher, so everything is just going up in value.

Scott Akridge 60; Marietta, Georgia; Democrat/liberal

It would be likely ICE. I feel like that right now is having the largest, most powerful negative impact on people in this country. And it’s very blatant, and I feel like stopping that would be a good touchstone for how we all move forward.

What do you think is the most significant thing Donald Trump has done in his second term?

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

His recent deal to establish or re-establish American hegemony in Greenland is a really big deal. Making sure that America has access to Greenland, and China does not, is a very important thing that Donald Trump has done. Also, with the Iran war, it is very important what we’re doing there, and I hope for as quick and decisive a success as can possibly be reached.

Sally Rasmussen 62; Medford, Wisconsin; independent/progressive

I’m going to say the assault upon not only the immigrant community, but every community that he sees as being vulnerable. Giving the American people or a certain sector within the American population permission to be cruel and to exalt in this public display of cruelty – we are going to spend a long time recovering from that.

Morgan Akin 85; Redding, California; Democrat/moderate

There’s a number of things, but destroying public structures, buildings and so forth in Washington DC, and then building new ones that have no relevance whatsoever to democracy or the people of the country. He is benefiting from his office, increasing his income [by] billions of dollars, while Americans are suffering with high gas prices and food prices and so forth. I just filled my car up, just before you called. I have a Honda CRV, which is not a big car, and it cost me $78 to fill it up.

Does your life feel better or worse than it did two years ago?

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

My life is better. Myself and my husband, we are both retired. I’m retired from the education field. I was clerical; I was not in a teaching role. My husband was assembly line. He was a blue-collar worker. He worked for General Motors. But I’d say that we’re better off because I feel safer. I feel more hopeful for the future. The economy, of course – things could be better with gas prices, but I think that that’s a temporary problem right now.

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

Economically, much worse. It’s worse than it was two weeks ago. I have a pickup truck. Filling my gas two weeks ago, two months ago, was $80. Now, it’s $120. I’m expecting it to be $150. And not only that, is my [utilities] bill going to go up. What else is going to go up? Groceries are going to go up just because shipping is going up. I’m not getting a raise yet, again, we’re making record profits. Who are those profits going to? Not you and me, not the people who need the money.

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

My parents went out of business during Trump 2. My parents started a business, like, 20 years ago in the auto industry. They were very, very lucky because neither of them have college degrees. What sort of started in Trump’s disastrous Covid response, that was one of the first times that my parents had to take out a big loan that they weren’t sure about. In their industry, the tariffs have completely shaken up everything. It has caused them to have a lot less certainty, and eventually that built up, and they couldn’t go on any longer. They’ve got a new business in the works. We’re doing OK, but that was something that did personally affect me.

Patti Fucci 46; Roswell, Georgia; independent/moderate

I never thought, in 32 years, as a Venezuelan American, that I had to carry my passport with me everywhere I go. I never thought that I will live in fear in the United States, even though I’m an American citizen.

How optimistic are you about America’s future?

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

I’m very optimistic. This country’s been through worse and she’s always came out on top. I don’t think that there’s a better country in this world. I don’t think there’s a more powerful country in this world. As far as the best in leadership, I think we have it. As far as goals and policies that this country should strive for, I think Donald Trump has those in place.

Scott Akridge 60; Marietta, Georgia; Democrat/liberal

I’m not very optimistic. Thirty years ago, I would have said yes. We were the shiny new penny that everybody loved after World War II. Now we see the reverse: European countries have gotten their footing and are passing us. China is the worry. Xi is a smart man, a benevolent dictator. If we continue down this path of electing the Trumps of the world who do not embrace science, education or long-term economic stability and infrastructure, this country will continue to decline.

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

Oh, I think America’s future is behind it. I believe we’re starting to witness the collapse of the American empire, sad to say, but just understanding how economics work and how everything is based on the petrodollar. I understand why Trump wanted to get away from EVs [electric vehicles], because if EVs took over, then less oil would be needed and the US dollar would be needed less and less. But what good is being the richest person on an ash heap? All the water is dehydrating. As the earth gets hotter and hotter, water is not sitting on the planet’s surface anymore, it’s in the air. It’s just going to be more storms, more lakes drying up, and what’s going on right now? Oh, we need all the fresh water for datacenters. What do you need datacenters for if nobody’s going to be here?

Sally Rasmussen 62; Medford, Wisconsin; independent/progressive

I take great encouragement from some of the voices of the Black community, the immigrant community, people who have been involved in activism for decades – I do have optimism. It’s hard to balance sometimes, because there are certainly times when I feel like, oh, who even cares? And why is our country so special that we wouldn’t fall down the hellscape of authoritarianism? But there is a large movement, there is a large resistance, and it’s growing week by week. And I think we have a long tradition in this country of believing that we do have rights. We have these incandescently beautiful founding documents.

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

I see movements domestically – obviously, the DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] that has been killing it in the primaries. They’ve already done more damage than the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street ever did, and it feels like this is just the beginning. So I’m very, very optimistic, and I think the world that we can accomplish, a world where everyone’s needs are met, at least in the wealthiest nation in the history of the planet.

How do you want the Iran war to end?

Yajaira Martinez 43; Pharr, Texas; independent/disaffected Trump voter

Let’s be realistic: war is created for money to be created. I just feel everything just needs to end. Everybody, every country, needs to focus on themselves, and the United States needs to focus on the United States’ people.

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

I want it to end with the least amount of death. I’m a mother of five children. I have three sons and two daughters. I have one grandson. I don’t want any kind of war because war brings death. But I think that the person that’s able to end this conflict is in leadership today.

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

I don’t think a peace deal can be reached with the existing regime. Regime change in the Middle East has been very hard to master, so it really would have to be a move of the people in Iran. The propaganda war may be the most important front for a truly lasting peace to be achieved.

Scott Akridge 60; Marietta, Georgia; Democrat/liberal

At this point, we just need to walk away. There’s no winning; they are winning. We need to cut our losses and move on. I’m a little shocked that with our trillion-dollar military, one little country like Iran has somehow managed to deplete our resources. To reasonably manage a war and win, we have shown ourselves incapable. At this point, to save face, we need to spin some PR and walk away.

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

I’m a veteran, so I’m trying to choose my words very carefully on that. With the conviction of Donald Trump. With the conviction of Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. With the conviction of Pete Hegseth.

How do you think the war has affected perceptions of the US around the world?

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

When you have a leader that is confident in his ability and he says what he means and he means what he says and he leads with confidence, I think people respect that. So I think that we’re being respected a lot more than we were in the last administration.

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

You know how a lot of families have those old, racist grandpas that you just leave in a corner and you don’t bring them to family gatherings? That’s who the US is right now. It’s sad, but I don’t know who our allies are. And the allies Trump has have been the enemies of the United States for generations.

Patti Fucci 46; Roswell, Georgia; independent/moderate

No good … We roll a red carpet for [Putin]… for [Xi Jinping] a week or two ago. We are doing business with [Delcy] Rodríguez in Venezuela, who is a criminal dictator.

What do you think about changes in the Democratic party?

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

The most concerning section, especially in this election cycle, is that democratic socialist alliance. What they seem to be fighting for isn’t just a better safety net; it has become the dismantling of America as a concept, the dismantling of the west as a concept, and of reality itself as a meaningful concept in public discourse.

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

I think what’s going on in the Democratic party is very productive. I think even the hard conversations over ‘DSA outsiders’ and: ‘Are these extreme ideas what we stand for?’ I think it shows that we’re expanding the conversation to policies that will help people’s lives in a real material way, and that we don’t have to only stop the worst of the Trump administration. We can also make healthcare work significantly better for everyone in the country. That’s a real consideration.

What’s the way that we can actually win and hold on to what’s most important? I think we’re seeing that there’s a route that we can both win more and hold on to our values. The whole basis of the logic that shifts the Democrats right is that ‘at least it’s what’s good for elections’ or ‘at least we’ll win, and then we can think about all the considerations and all the reform afterward. But first we have to win.’ Well, Kamala didn’t win, so what now? Plenty of moderate Democrats did not win. Hillary didn’t win. That logic is not as sound as they think it is.

Can you imagine a Democrat in the White House in 2028? Who would it be?

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

I am going to be in the air force. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, and as such, I will serve him honorably. If that’s a Democrat, then I will serve a Democrat honorably, because he will still be my president – or she.

Sally Rasmussen 62; Medford, Wisconsin; independent/progressive

If I imagine a Democrat in the White House in 2028, being elected in 2028, inaugurated in 2029, I have to make the assumption that a lot of things take place that are no longer guaranteed. Trump has been threatening the midterm elections. If a Democrat were to be inaugurated in 2029, the popular resistance needs to hold firm and ramp up its pressure. There are some solid people out there. Adam Kinzinger, he’s solid; he was a Republican, but he’s kind of gone over, gotten over that. I have a lot of respect for Pete Buttigieg, probably because he’s able to speak very cogently, very decisively, with people who disagree with him.

Patti Fucci 46; Roswell, Georgia; independent/moderate

Let’s not talk about 2028 until after [the] midterms. I think Andy [Beshear] and Gavin Newsom will be my two top choices if I were to think about 2028 right now, which I’m not.

Scott Akridge 60; Marietta, Georgia; Democrat/liberal

This country doesn’t vote for Democrats because they love Democrats … It’ll be because Trump has ruined things so poorly, and made things so bad, that people will turn around and come back again and vote again, just like they did when Trump was in office the first time and elected a Democratic president. Now, who it is … that’s the joke in the room. Because our best candidates are those who a lot of the American public are racist or bigoted against. I’m a Mayor Pete [Buttigieg] fan. I think he’s brilliant, he’s a brilliant man, he is. Just mentally, historically, in terms of what he’s accomplished in his lifetime, he’s brilliant. He’s gay. Can he win?