Undecided voters, set in their views of Trump, now weigh backing Harris

Kenneth Hauck wasn’t sure how he would vote when the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was just a hypothetical scenario. Now it’s a reality, and Hauck still isn’t sure whom he will support — but he’s leaning toward Harris.

“I need to do more research on her before anything,” said Hauck, 38, a software tester from San Diego, noting that he recently watched a YouTube video on Harris’ and Trump’s policies and that Harris’ housing plan piqued his interest. Hauck said Harris’ policies “seem good.” But, he added, “the devil is in the details.”

Hauck is among the 8% of voters surveyed in NBC News’ July national poll who said they weren’t sure how they would vote in a potential race between Trump and Harris or said they would consider a different candidate. In new interviews, 21 of them spoke about how they processed the tumultuous events of the summer, including a Democratic candidate switch, a pair of vice presidential picks and two apparent attempts to assassinate Trump.

Of the 21 previously undecided voters who recently spoke with NBC News, the largest group included nine voters like Hauck who said that they are still undecided but that they are concerned about Trump and are leaning toward picking Harris. Four more are definitely supporting Harris, while one is backing Trump, and three are leaning toward him. Four aren’t planning to vote.

The voters, who come from different backgrounds and corners of the country, are bound by skepticism about politics and politicians. While some of them are still unsure about Harris, many are set in their views of Trump in his third national campaign, with several adamant that whatever they do, they won’t be voting for him.

“From what I’ve seen so far, I’m not voting for Trump, for sure,” said Norna, 19, a fast-food restaurant worker in Florida who declined to share her last name.

That has given Harris an opening with voters like Norna. But they’re looking for more information about her and her proposals.

Looking for more

Norna is particularly interested in Harris’ stances on “police brutality,” support for the Palestinians and economic policies.

Robert Marinoff, 64, a Democrat from Queens, New York, who manages a restaurant, said, “I want to give it deep thought.”

Marinoff said that he is leaning toward Harris, though he is “not in love with either one of the candidates,” and that he wants to hear more about the candidates’ plans for inflation and the economy.

Lorenzo Alderiso, 22, a recent college graduate from Bethlehem, New York, said he is likely to vote for Harris but is still hesitating because of Harris’ actions — or lack thereof — in office.

“She’s saying she wants to do all these things, she’s going to make life better, but she’s the sitting vice president. Could she not do that now?” Alderiso said.

Alderiso described Harris as a “reasonable adult,” adding that Trump’s rhetoric during last week’s debate sealed his decision not to support him, referring to Trump’s false claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were abusing pets.

“When Trump started talking about eating cats and dogs and stuff, I mean, any, any sliver I might have had — definitely gone,” he said.

Elizabeth Solivan, 68, a New Mexico voter who supported Trump in 2020, is also skeptical of him. She’s looking to do some more research on Project 2025 before she decides whom to support.

“I heard that it’s really degrading to women for abortion and stuff like that,” Solivan said, referring to the conservative Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump administration, which Trump himself has disavowed. “So I’m trying to do more research on that, because it just seems like it’s more of dictatorship than being a president, and I don’t want to be in a dictatorship.”

Other voters are considering supporting Trump.

Joel B., 31, a Democratic voter in Ohio who works in real estate, said that he remains undecided because “neither one has said anything I really like” but that he is leaning toward Trump based on policies relating to small businesses.

“I can only go off when he was last president in certain things that he gave for businesses,” Joel said, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Taking sides

Some voters who didn’t know how they would vote in a hypothetical Trump-Harris matchup in early July have now taken sides.

A woman in Alabama, who declined to share her name, said she is definitely voting for Trump, saying the economy and immigration are her top issues.

“I don’t agree with Harris’ policies,” the woman said. “I don’t think she’s going to make a great president.”

Four voters who were planning to back President Joe Biden this year and were initially skeptical of Harris have now decided to support her.

Julius, 38, an IT contractor in North Carolina, said that at first he didn’t know much about Harris’ background but that he had seen news stories suggesting she was a difficult boss. He then found out that, like him, Harris went to a historically Black college.

Julius said Harris’ background was “obviously more relatable to mine than it is to President Trump,” adding, “I think I had an incorrect opinion that was ill-informed of her back in July.”

Jenica, 64, a litigation consultant in Texas, said she disliked Harris during her first presidential run, describing her as “a little bit of a bully.” But she’s ultimately supporting Harris because of her opposition to Trump.

“Had it been anybody other than Trump, I would not vote for her,” Jenica said, saying that as a Romanian immigrant, she is fearful that Trump would govern as an authoritarian.

“As an educated person, a cat lady, too, I think the stakes are just too high,” Jenica said, adding later, “I honestly don’t want to live my later years in a dictatorship.”

Other voters have decided to sit out the election, disillusioned by the candidates and the country’s polarized politics.

Christopher Richey, 39, a small-business owner in Texas, described Harris as “the lesser of two evils” but said he doesn’t plan to vote, in part because he doesn’t believe she has a chance of winning his state.

Richey, a self-described libertarian, said that he couldn’t support Harris because of ideological differences and that he believes Harris will “find the government solution in every situation.”

Ryan, 25, a Maryland voter who works in digital marketing, also doesn’t support Trump but doesn’t plan to vote for Harris, either, because she is likely to win the deep-blue state anyway. Ryan voted for Biden in 2020, looking for a change from how Trump handled the pandemic.

“I think people like me, at least, want a moderate that has some common sense,” Ryan said. “They don’t want to go far to the right; they don’t want to go far to the left. They just want dialogue, and they want to be able to have dialogue without shouting at each other. That’s why I feel a little checked-out.”

Maria Li, 30, a real estate agent from Philadelphia, is a Democrat but still undecided, saying she broadly doesn’t have confidence in either of the candidates.

“I feel like no matter who I would pick, nothing is really going to be better,” she said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com