January 2025: Georgia Swing Voters

Key Takeaways

12 Georgia swing voters took part in the first focus groups of 2025.
They did not support the many presential pardons issued on Inauguration Day by both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The voters think Trump should concentrate on the economy and the border during the first year of his second term.

The first Swing Voter Project session of 2025 spoke to 12 Georgia swing voters on Jan. 21, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. Discussion topics included pardons issued by both presidents, Trump’s inaugural address and matters that voters hope to see a focus on in 2025. The participants also talked about the reasons behind their votes for president in the last two elections.

A collaboration between Sago, Engagious and Axios, the Swing Voter Project talks to voters from one of seven key battleground states each month. The participants voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2024.

How Voters Viewed Trump’s Inaugural Day Pardons

When asked about the pardons Trump issued on the first day of his second term, 10 of the 12 participants were opposed to all of them. Two opposed only the pardons that Trump issued for those who attacked the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Here’s some of what the voters had to say about those pardons:

“It’s mind boggling.”

“I think it’s setting a bad example, that people can do all this criminal activity and get away with it.”

“People that commit a crime should pay for the crime … It’s just not right.”

“Forgiving the one who committed such a crime because they supported you back then is not a right choice. You should be neutral.”

How Voters Felt About Biden’s Pardons

Before Biden left office, he pardoned his family members and former government officials. His relatives and the officials had not been charged with any criminal acts. The Georgia voters also didn’t support these pardons. Their comments included:

“I believe that Joe Biden didn’t do anything for us, so why is he doing things while he’s going out the door?”

“I think that is really unfair that they tend to abuse the power that they have. I can’t pardon my family, so why would they be able to do so?”

“He pardons part of the government and his family so that they can’t be attacked the same way they attacked Trump and I don’t think that’s fair.”

All 12 Georgia swing voters thought both Biden and Trump had abused their pardon powers. They would support a constitutional amendment to limit presidential pardons in the future.

The Best and Worst Things Trump Could Do in 2025

When voters were asked what the best thing President Trump could do this year, they had two main issues on their minds. At least six of them mentioned making the economy better or stronger, and four said secure the border.

Their answers ranged a bit more when it came to the worst things they thought Trump could do. Here’s some of what they said:

“The worst thing he could do is start a war.”

“Not protect our borders.”

“Fall short of his promises to us.”

“I say waste time going after Democrats.”

“Make the economy even worse and more tax for working class people.”

“Too much spending.”

“Not stopping the wars.”

“Invading Panama.”

“To meddle in foreign affairs that has nothing to do with the U.S. and cause more wars.”

Thoughts on Panama

During the focus groups, the Georgia swing voters were played an excerpt from Trump’s inaugural address about Panama when Trump said, “We’re taking it back.” Only two of the 12 voters thought Trump should prioritize possession of Panama. The rest of them made comments like these:

“I don’t think it’s worth it.”

“I think we have bigger fish to fry right now, when it comes to our borders, when it comes to the energy crisis, opening up the pipeline.”

“It makes me uneasy, because I feel like it’s going to cause a lot of conflict.”

“I just don’t feel like he should prioritize that unless it’s causing us to lose a lot of money.”

Reactions to Trump’s 2025 Inaugural Address

Only one of the 12 Georgia swing voters watched Trump’s speech on Jan. 20, 2025. Seven others saw parts of his inaugural address, but not the whole thing. During the focus groups, the voters were shown five snippets from the speech. The main takeaways of their reactions are:

They are all firmly in support of his actions at the border.
Most think he has a plan to bring prices down.
They will hold it against him if prices are not in check by the end of his term.
Most do not think he was chosen by God to make America great again.

Why Voters Supported Biden in 2020

The members of this focus group included seven independents, four Republicans and one Democrat. They all voted for Biden in 2020. Their reasons for supporting the Democratic candidate in 2020 included:

“Mainly because at the end of Trump’s presidency, he seemed to be kind of out of control, which I don’t look for in a leader.”

“I thought [Biden] was going to unite the country.”

“Usually, I would vote independent but they never have a chance of winning so I went with Biden. Also, I thought, overall, Obama did a decent job in his eight years and [Biden] was his vice president, so I went off of that.”

“I voted for Biden because I thought that Trump was way polarized to the right and he was ticking off other nations.”

“I just felt that we needed something different from whatever Trump did the four years before.”

“I felt like Biden was going to make a change with the economy.”

“Trump was out of control and I’m really big on morals and values and I feel like he didn’t have that, so I was like, ‘let me vote for Joe Biden’.”

“I thought Biden would be more neutral.”

Why Voters Supported Trump in 2024

In 2024, these 12 Georgia swing voters flipped to Trump. Here are some of the reasons they gave:

“I felt like he could fix the economy.”

“I thought, ‘if Trump comes back, the economy will be better’.”

“For the obvious reasons that Biden didn’t do anything he said he would do, not one thing. He let the country have all these invasive foreigners come through. We didn’t feel safe and the economy plain and simple, that easy.”

“I voted for Trump because of the border.”

“Well, I, actually, didn’t really vote for Trump, I voted against Democrats, if you know what I mean.”

“I voted for Trump in 2024 after four years of a Biden-Harris administration and we didn’t get much anything out of that administration.”

“I feel like he would be a stronger leader and get more respect worldwide.”

“I voted for Trump because I tried to give both of them a clean slate, with Harris being new, but I never saw her actually state any plans. She ran as opposing Trump instead of running for actually doing something for the country.”

Throughout 2025, the Swing Voter Project will be checking in with voters to see what they think about current events. Don’t miss a single edition.