NPR special: 5 takeaways from a year of listening to swing voters

People cast ballots on the first day of early voting in New York on Oct. 24. Ryan Murphy/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Ryan Murphy/AFP via Getty Images

Editor's note: Audio for this special will be posted soon.

Every election, there is a crucial sliver of voters who help determine which candidates win.

These are voters who bounce from one side to the other — the rare swing voters.

And all throughout 2026, NPR has had a front-row seat to how these folks think, listening in as voters in different swing states reflect on President Trump, the political issues that matter to them, and who they might vote for going forward.

In this case, these voters supported Joe Biden in 2020 and then swung to backing Trump in 2024.

They all participated in the Swing Voter Project, which hosts online focus groups every month. They are run by messaging firm Engagious and market research recruiting firm Nelson Recruiting. NPR is a partner on the project.

So just ahead of Election Day, what have we learned from swing voters this year? Here are five takeaways:

1. These Biden-to-Trump voters quickly soured on the president
2. Voters are able to draw a direct line from Trump's decisions to their feelings about the economy
3. It's not like Democrats are popular either!
4. There appears to be a convergence among voters on the left and right in support of economic populism
5. There's broad concern about artificial intelligence and the proliferation of data centers

Click the audio player above to listen to a special, hour-long discussion about these takeaways and the voters.

This special — "Swing voters and the issues that matter" — was edited by Ben Swasey and produced by Lexie Schapitl.