The Deciders, June 24, 2024: Third-Party Georgia Voters

In this Article

• Third-Party Voters Who Supported Biden in 2020
• Third-Party Voters Who Supported Trump in 2020
• Voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Supporting Candidates with Little Chance of Victory
• Voting for Cornel West
• The First Presidential Debate of 2024

In the 2024 election, some critical groups of voters will play a pivotal role in determining the next U.S. president. Each month, The Deciders talks to a group of these voters to see what they think about the candidates and current events. This monthly spotlight on key voter segments is a collaboration between Sago, Engagious, NBC News and Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship.

On June 24, 10 third-party Georgia voters discussed why they no longer supportger support Joe Biden or Donald Trump. They also revealed how strongly they feel about voting for candidates with little chance of winning in November.

Georgia has 16 electoral votes. In 2016, the state voters chose Trump. In 2020, Biden won Georgia’s electoral votes by a 0.2% margin.

Third-Party Voters Who Supported Biden in 2020

Out of the 10 focus group participants, six voted for Biden in the last presidential election. Here’s why they say they don’t plan to vote for him again in November:

“I’d like to see something different.”

“Different political views, more follow through, keeping your word, keeping to your platform. If you’re winning our votes based on these promises of action that you’re making, these promises of diplomacy, then you should act on those and you should hold to those.”

“Because he supports Israel. Simple as that.”

“Because he just never got close to anything that he promised or that he vouched to do. I’ve only ever seen him space out when he’s giving speeches and he just seems very disoriented every single day.”

“I don’t believe he showed to be as moderate as the Joe Biden that I thought that I was voting for. He seems to be controlled by the party and if the party wants far-left policies, then they’re getting it with Joe.”

“Biden just seems like he’s not even really lucid anymore. He’s just a shell of himself, so it’s like I’m just voting for the party itself and not even really the president.”

Third-Party Voters Who Supported Trump in 2020

Four of the 10 third-party Georgia voters gave Trump their votes in 2020. Here’s are some of their comments about why they’ve shifted their support to third-party candidates:

“For me, it’s mostly the continuation of the vote denial. I mean, just get over it.”

“I lost a lot of respect after January 6 and the months after that.”

“The fact that he just can’t hold his composure is very concerning.”

“This time around, Trump’s going to be on a revenge tour. When he, if he, gets in the White House, he’s just going to be seeking out revenge.”

Voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Seven of the 10 third-party Georgia voters intend to vote for Robert Kennedy Jr. Two plan to vote for Cornell West, and one for the Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver.

The voters supporting Robert F. Kennedy had this to say:

“I feel like he is more in touch with the middle class and the needs of the middle class than any other candidates. Looking into some of his policies and ideas, I feel like he has some really good ideas to forward the country. I feel very strongly that we need somebody that can potentially heal the divide in our country.”

“I think he’s willing to take on corporations and not allow them to dominate the economy … He’s not afraid of corporate power.”

“He seems to be fairly bipartisan, you know, to a decent degree and I think that’s important … I feel like a lot of these politicians, they’re too busy trying to take sides.”

“He doesn’t bash other nationalities and other cultures. He wants to make everyone equal and have the same opportunities, whether you’re white, brown, yellow, green or black.”

Supporting Candidates with Little Chance of Victory

When the Kennedy supporters were asked how they feel about voting for a candidate who has little chance of winning the election, here’s what they said:

“In the two parties, so many people are voting against the other one. They’re voting for the lesser of two evils and I just don’t want to be that person. I want to actually research and learn. I want to vote for the person, and my conscience, I truly want to win, even if they don’t have a chance.”

“Even if I’m voting and it’s for somebody that probably won’t win, it shows that I’m willing to go out and vote. And I feel like that gives people in my demographic a lot more power. Basically, with African-Americans, a lot of us don’t vote in general or we just kind of go towards one party, the Democratic party.”

“Because you don’t know how many millions of people out there might want to see a difference in this country and our voters are going to matter. Period.”

“I am concerned, but at the same time, we’re voting two people who are literally sending us to war and who support genocide … I understand he may not have a chance, but it’s better than having two serial killers continue to try to dictate us in a horrible world that we live in already.”

Voting for Cornel West

While West also has little chance of winning the presidency, his supporters still feel strongly about voting for him. Here’s some of what they said:

“People are fed up with Biden and Trump.”

“I don’t believe that he doesn’t have a chance of winning. Again, when you talk about gender equality, when you talk about levels of class, when you talk about race, he has supportive backings that the other two candidates don’t have … Every African-American I know is going to vote for Cornel West.”

The First Presidential Debate of 2024

The conversation with the third-party Georgia voters took place several days before the Biden-Trump debate was held in Atlanta on June 27. Eight of the focus group participants said they planned to watch the debate. However, only two of them said that anything presented during the debate could change their mind about which candidate to support.

The Kennedy supporters were frustrated that RFK Jr. was not allowed to take part in the debate. Their comments included:

“I don’t understand why he’s fully not qualified, given that we have two men who are not fully in their right state of mind who ‘qualify’ to do so.”

“I find it ridiculous.”

“I believe he does qualify, but this country is run by top one percenters, top billionaires. They don’t want him upfront because they know he actually has a chance if a majority of the people actually see and hear what he has to say.”

Stay tuned for The Deciders future check-ins with voters. Each month, the series features conversations with voters expected to play an outsized role in determining the outcome of the presidential election in November.