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Republicans got a stunning rebuke in last week's midterms. But what do voters want from the Democrats coming into power in Congress? NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith has some answers in the latest installment of her series, Swing Shift.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: As part of the Swing Shift project, I check in regularly with about a dozen swing voters in swing states. Usually, it's me pinging them, asking what they think about something in the news. Well, on election night, at 9:56 p.m., I got a voice memo from Wally in Georgia, unprompted.
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WALLY: Just checking in here with a quick note. I'm not surprised at all by the outcome tonight. I believe that this is a lot of Trump's doing and pushback on his style of politics and how he governs.
KEITH: NPR has agreed not to use the full names of the voters participating in our Swing Shift project, so they can speak freely about politics. Wally voted for Trump in 2024, but two years later, he voted for Democrats. He says Trump has been exhausting and, to him, the election signals that the country is ready to move on.
WALLY: I'm not surprised at the outcome. Trump has been shooting himself in the foot for many months now. This shows me that people are still enthusiastic about getting out and voting, but voting isn't the end of the game here. We have to hold Democrats to some sort of tangible change and not just promises about what they want to do.
KEITH: Michelle in Michigan voted for President Biden in 2020 but chose Republicans in 2024 and again in this year's midterms.
MICHELLE: This is the first time, I think ever, since I've been voting, that not one of the people that I voted for won their election.
KEITH: Michelle says she understands why so many people voted for Democrats, even if she didn't. Americans are tired, she said, of high gas prices, the cost of living and not being able to afford their groceries. They voted for change.
MICHELLE: I will choose to hope because that's really all we can do is hope - hope that the politicians that were voted in will live up to the promises they made and that change will truly be made.
KEITH: It was something I heard again and again from these Swing Shift voters. They hope that the incoming Democratic Congress will focus on the issues that impact their daily lives and not descend into pettiness or partisan infighting. Jason from North Carolina is worried about Democrats trying for another impeachment.
JASON: It's my sincere hope that they don't and that claims on reducing the cost of living and things like that will actually happen.
KEITH: Same for John in Pennsylvania.
JOHN: Over these next two years, I hope they are concerned with and concentrate on the affordability issue. I hope they work with President Trump to try to lower prices. And I just hope it's not two years of investigations and impeachment hearings.
KEITH: Theresa in Pennsylvania also doesn't want two years of gridlock...
THERESA: I'm hoping we don't have that. I fear that we will have that.
KEITH: ...Because she just wants the cost of living to come down.
THERESA: I just don't remember it ever being as bad in our time. And I'm just hoping we get some relief and we get some relief soon.
KEITH: But it isn't only up to the Democratic Congress. Anything they pass would have to be signed by President Trump, and Trump has been inconsistent in recent days about whether he wants cooperation or battle. Gerald in Georgia, who went from voting for Democrats all his life to being hardcore MAGA, is disappointed with last week's election results, and he's reflective in this moment.
GERALD: The Donald Trump era, for all intents and purposes, is coming to an end in 2028, for certain, if not before that.
KEITH: It's not clear what comes next for either party, but winning over swing voters like the ones in this project will be part of the equation. They're looking for results. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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