STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The voters have spoken in the midterm elections. Now a group of them is watching to see what happens next. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith has been checking in with these voters as part of her project on swing voters, Swing Shift.
JOHN: So I have some thoughts about the midterms.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: This is John from Philadelphia. Like all the voters participating in Swing Shift, we've agreed not to use his full name so he can talk more freely about politics.
JOHN: Pennsylvania, overnight, seems like they went from a purple state to a blue state.
KEITH: He voted for President Biden in 2020 and President Trump in 2024. In the most recent midterms, he stuck with Republicans, despite concerns about the cost of living and the war with Iran.
JOHN: I'm just very surprised. Not surprised that Democrats had a good night, but they had a very good night. Absolutely amazed that they won in Texas and places that just seemed like they were really red.
GERALD: Come on, man. Texas turned blue?
KEITH: Gerald is a Biden-to-Trump voter from Georgia who has gone all in on MAGA.
GERALD: South Carolina turned blue? Ohio, Kansas. Like, this was a referendum of epic proportions.
KEITH: He's already looking ahead to a future without Trump leading Republicans. Jason from North Carolina is also thinking about what comes next. He split his ticket, voting for Democrat Roy Cooper for Senate and the Republican incumbent for the House.
JASON: My congressman was defeated this time by someone that no one's really ever heard of.
KEITH: That happened in a lot of places. As for the incoming Democratic Congress...
JASON: What my fear is, is that the Democrats now are going to spend the next two years not focusing on any of the things that they say Trump didn't do.
KEITH: Wally, another Swing Shift voter from Georgia, is ready for change. He voted for Trump in 2024 but swung to Democrats in this year's elections.
WALLY: In two years, Trump is going to be gone and there's still going to be work to be done. I think there's real light at the end of the tunnel politically for Democrats right now. They just have to not ruin their moment and focus on the American people instead of things that the public just doesn't care about.
KEITH: Those warnings for Democrats were echoed by virtually every Swing Shift voter, no matter who they voted for. All of them expect or at least really want something to get done in Washington.
EVAN: I hope that the Democrats make good on some of their promises.
THERESA: I hope we don't experience a bunch of gridlock, just political infighting for the next two years.
MICHELLE: That the politicians that were voted in will live up to the promises they made.
KEITH: That was Evan in Wisconsin, Theresa in Pennsylvania and Michelle in Michigan. Michelle says the message from last week's election is that Americans are tired.
MICHELLE: Tired of the higher cost of living. Tired of not being able to afford their groceries. They showed their frustration at the polls and they voted for change.
KEITH: The next two years, with Democrats in control of Congress and President Trump in his waning time in office, will set the political stage for the 2028 presidential election. We'll be checking in with these swing voters regularly between now and then.
Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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