The majority of Iowans are exhausted by the 2024 Trump-Biden rematch

60% of Iowans say they are exhausted thinking about November’s presidential election.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to describe themselves as optimistic and excited about the November elections.
The best feeling Democrats mentioned after exhaustion was fear.

Linda Cade watched television coverage of Donald Trump’s recent hush money trial and quickly grew tired of how she felt Democrats and prosecutors were going after the former president.

While browsing cable TV, she was also confronted with Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges. Instability abroad. Chaos at the border.

The policies coming out of the White House are too focused on “climate nonsense,” she said, and she is angry that Democratic President Joe Biden wants to cancel student loan debt even though she has worked hard to pay off her own debt. to pay.

All this leaves Cade feeling exhausted.

“I just want it done so I can vote and we can get (Trump) elected,” she said.

The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows a majority of Iowans across the political spectrum share a similar sentiment: exhaustion.

Sixty percent say they are exhausted thinking about November’s presidential election, which will feature a rematch between Trump and Biden — two of the most hated men in modern American politics.

The fatigue is twofold, the poll shows.

Among Republicans, 52% say they are exhausted thinking about the presidential election. That’s 61% for Democrats, and 65% of independents say the same.

But Republicans are more likely than Democrats to describe themselves as optimistic and enthusiastic about the November elections.

The best feeling Democrats mentioned after exhaustion was fear.

Respondents from the Iowa Poll were presented with a list of six potential emotions to describe their feelings about the 2024 presidential election. After exhaustion comes optimism at 49%. Then comes fear at 42%, excitement at 31%, indifference at 27% and revenge at 8%.

Survey respondents could choose as many words as they felt appropriate.

The survey of 806 Iowa adults was conducted by Selzer & Co. from June 9 to 14. from Des Moines and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Most Iowa Republicans are optimistic, many are excited — and a few want revenge

Despite Cade’s exhaustion, she said she is also excited and optimistic about the presidential race and Trump’s chances of beating Biden in November.

“As long as it’s a fair election, yes, he’ll win,” said Cade, a 75-year-old Atlantic respondent. “There are no two ways about it.”

According to the poll, 62% of Republicans say they are optimistic about the presidential election — more than the 45% of Democrats and 39% of independents who say the same.

Similarly, 47% of Republicans say they are enthusiastic, compared to 26% of Democrats and 21% of independents.

Those feelings are likely reinforced by Trump’s chances in Iowa. The latest Iowa poll shows him leading Biden 50% to 32% among likely voters, after also winning the state in 2016 and 2020.

National polls also show Trump performing well in key battleground states, which will play a much more substantial role than Iowa in shaping the outcome of the election.

But a few Iowans – 8% – are looking forward to the race for “revenge.”

That includes 12% of Republicans, 2% of Democrats and 8% of independents.

“I just want revenge for Trump,” said Seth Bartmess, a 40-year-old respondent from Berwick. “I think he deserves a second chance.”

Bartmess said he is fully committed to Trump’s re-election chances and is excited about November.

“I think Trump will win. I really think he is,” he said. “I just think America itself is tired of Biden.”

Most Democrats view the 2024 presidential race with dread and exhaustion

Roan Marcy, a 20-year-old respondent from North Liberty, plans to vote for Biden but is approaching the election with feelings of exhaustion and anxiety.

“It’s exhausting hearing the same things over and over again,” says Marcy, who is transgender. “Hey, this bill is in the courts and whatnot, to see if it gets passed. Guess what? It takes away your rights.” And it’s like I’ve been hearing that since I was politically aware. So it was quite tiring, the same cycle of things over and over.”

Marcy, a Democrat, doesn’t like Trump but doesn’t believe Biden has done enough to reverse Trump’s policies while in office.

He said he currently plans to vote for Biden as “the lesser of two evils.”

The Iowa Poll shows Marcy is among the 42% of Iowans who are dreading the 2024 presidential race. That includes 59% of Democrats, 45% of independents and 27% of Republicans.

At the national level, Biden scored a victory over Trump in 2020. But his approval rating has fallen in the years since he took office, both in Iowa and across the country.

Today, he faces a difficult re-election battle, even as he once again sees the race as a battle for the soul of the nation and protecting democracy.

Marcy said he will try to stay involved in politics at the state and local level, rather than the presidential race.

“It feels like just having a Democratic president isn’t enough,” he said. “That’s why I’m going to try to focus more on local elections, and I’m going to focus more on trying to have more power over local affairs. Because at the end of the day, that will probably protect my rights as a citizen of Iowa more than my rights as a U.S. citizen.”

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the Des Moines Register’s chief politics reporter. She also covers the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her out [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted June 9-14, 2024, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. from Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 806 Iowans aged 18 or older. Interviewers from Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and mobile phone numbers provided by Dynata. The interviews were conducted in English. Responses were adjusted by age, gender and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent estimates from the American Community Survey.

Questions based on the sample of 806 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this study were repeated 19 out of 20 times with the same questions and the same methodology, the findings would not differ from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents – for example based on gender or age – have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyrighted Iowa Poll without credit and, on digital platforms, links to the original content on The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.