Watch: Diverse Democrats React to Midterm Election Results, Cite Examples of Voter Intimidation In November Focus Groups

Washington, D.C. | Nov. 15 – In HIT Strategies’ latest focus groups, diverse Democrats in battleground states reacted to the midterm election results. The participants shared their thoughts on avoiding the “red wave,” their trust in the midterm election results, their awareness of instances of voter intimidation, and their experiences enduring racism when expressing themselves politically.”   

“Polls ahead of the midterms showed many Democratic voters of color feared violence and voter intimidation, and our latest focus groups back up those claims,” said Terrance Woodbury, founding partner at HIT Strategies. “While many Democrats were happy with the midterm elections results, they also expressed angst at voter intimidation, citing their own experiences with political harassment and connecting it to the historical legacy of Jim Crow.”

November Focus Group

• This focus group was with people of color in battleground states who voted in the midterms and identify as Democrats. They were medium- or high-information voters. 

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Selected Quotations: 

“They’re saying because this election had unprecedented people voting, which means a huge amounts of ballots came in on this election, that’s why they’re behind. They’re going to work during the holiday tomorrow and during the weekend to count everything, and we should know something by early next week.” – Latino man, Nevada on ballot counting in his state 

“Yeah, so I was glad it was not the big red wave that everybody was saying. Like [participant] said, everybody that Trump backed pretty much lost.” – Latino man, Nevada 

“I don’t think it’s right to intimidate people like that. That’s just not fair. And if you look back on the history of voting, when it started, they were making African Americans take literacy tests to take it.” – Black woman, Arizona 

“It’s primarily white up here. It’s some of the things that I hear. I don’t want to go to jail. There’s too many metro, which is police, so I just try to keep my opinion to myself because there’s three things you don’t talk about. Politics, sports, and religion, so I just try to keep it moving.” – Black woman, Nevada 

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About HIT Strategies    
As Washington’s leading millennial and minority-owned public opinion research company, HIT Strategies helps progressive leaders and organizations translate the values and attitudes of target audiences into real-time insights. We understand America’s fastest-growing electorate and consumer groups and specialize in targeting communities under-represented in public opinion, including Black Americans, Latino Americans, Millennials + Genz, LGBTQ+, Women, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Visit hitstrat.com and follow @HITStrat on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.  

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