Most Americans ‘anxious’, ‘frustrated’ about presidential campaign – Poll

Seven in 10 Americans report being interested in the US election, but considerably fewer are excited about the presidential campaign.

About 70 percent of Americans report feeling anxious or frustrated about the 2024 presidential campaign, but far fewer are excited about the election, a new poll has found.

Democrats and Republicans share similar emotions about the November 5 election. However, Democrats are more likely to be anxious, according to the poll released on Thursday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The race remains a virtual dead heat according to most polls, adding to the heightened tension, with neither Democrat Kamala Harris nor Republican Donald Trump showing a clear lead in the seven key swing states expected to decide the outcome.

In their closing rallies, the candidates and their supporters have launched personal attacks on each other, with both parties issuing dire, existential warnings about the future of democracy, and the country as a whole.

The AP-NORC poll found that 80 percent of Democrats said they are interested in the presidential campaign, along with 77 percent of Republicans. Meanwhile, independents, not aligned with any party, are much less interested in the campaign (54 percent).

About 79 percent of Democrats say they are anxious, while only 66 percent of Republicans share that sentiment.

Black adults feel more excitement (46 percent) about the contest than white adults (33 percent). Black adults are also less likely to feel frustration than white adults (55 percent vs 74 percent) as well as anxiety (62 percent vs 73 percent), the poll found.

Hispanic adults are also less frustrated (63 percent) about the campaign than white adults.

Some groups say they are more anxious than they were four years ago, even though that election took place in the midst of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

About 80 percent of Democrats say “anxious” describes how they are feeling now, up slightly from around three-quarters in the last election. About two-thirds of Republicans are anxious, a moderate uptick from around 60 percent in 2020.

Interest in this election is slightly higher (75 percent) than in 2020 (72 percent) and 2016 (69 percent). And, despite excitement being low, it’s also higher (36 percent) than it was in 2020 (30 percent) and 2016 (25 percent).

One thing that has stayed fairly constant is the level of frustration with the campaign. About 69 percent of Americans say “frustrated” describes their emotional state, the same as it was in 2020, though slightly lower than in 2016 (75 percent).

The poll of 1,233 adults was conducted October 24-29, 2024, using a sample designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies