Exploring the 2024 Presidential Battleground States

As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, the latest political analysis indicates that the outcome will be decided by just a few critical battleground states. Data from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas allows us to provide a detailed profile of the battleground states’ demographics and opinions on critical issues, individually and collectively. Ideologically, battleground state residents are divided with 35% identifying as conservative, 35% moderate, and 27% liberal, and a key litmus test issue for nearly four in ten Americans in battleground states is abortion. Learn more about battleground states’ key demographics and voting issues in our new series of Spotlight Analyses, “Exploring the 2024 Presidential Battleground States.”

‘Migrant Invasion,’ Mass Deportations Top 2024 GOP Platform

At The Hill, Rafael Bernal reports that the GOP’s first original party platform since 2016 includes 20 broad-strokes policy proposals, beginning with two immigration-related points. The platform mimics former President Trump’s rhetorical style and campaign speeches and presents closing the U.S.-Mexico border and conducting mass deportations as top Republican policy priorities. In a more detailed explanation of the policy proposals, the document doubles down on a “migrant invasion,” migrant crime, and a vision of greatly expanded border and immigration enforcement. PRRI datareveals that the majority of white evangelical Protestants, a key Republican constituency, favor more restrictive immigration policies, including building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico (80%).

In a Rural Battleground State, Organizers Take a People-First Approach to Politics

At The 19th News, Grace Panetta highlights the work of Down Home North Carolina, a progressive grassroots organization building political power by organizing working class community members, particularly women and LGBTQ+ people, in rural areas of the state. Rather than canvassing for specific candidates, the organization aims to engage community members in meaningful conversations about issues that impact them, including healthcare, housing, and abortion rights. PRRI finds that rural Americans (64%) are more likely than Americans in suburban (51%) or urban areas (47%) to believe that America’s best days are now behind us. Read PRRI’s new Spotlight Analysis exploring North Carolina residents’ demographics and politics.

Gen Z Evangelicals of Color Want Better Choices

Hannah Keziah Agustin at Sojourners describes how some Gen Z evangelicals of color feel about the possibility of another election matchup between former President Trump and President Biden. Concerns about the candidates’ ages, the war in Gaza, the cost of living, and religious principles including being “merciful toward their neighbors” were among the top concerns of the group. Agustin asserts that, while it seems impossible to hope, Gen Z evangelicals have faith in one another to keep fighting for justice no matter the election outcome. PRRI finds that nearly six in ten Gen Z adults (58%) agree that “We won’t be able to solve the country’s big problems until the older generation no longer holds power.”