With Election Day upon us, how is everyone feeling about the presidential race? Angry? Hopeful? Anxious? Exhausted? Perfectly Zen? If we could take an aura photograph of the American electorate — a portrait filled with blobs of color by electromagnetic sensors, intended to reveal the subject’s character and state of mind — what would it look like?
According to daily polling from Civiqs, which has been charting America’s mood about the direction of the United States, the vibes around this so-called vibes election have been strikingly stable. This despite an electoral journey that has featured more ups, downs and bizarre twists than that Australian breakdancer at the Olympics: a twice-impeached ex-president and felon vowing political retribution; a spiraling escalation of violence in the Middle East; two assassination attempts; foreign disinformation plots; malefactors torching ballot boxes; xenophobic smears involving pet-eating migrants; the radicalization of childless cat ladies. It has been a lot. But through it all, the electorate has stayed on an even keel, except for at one critical moment that shifted America’s spirits like nothing else: President Biden’s decision to bow out in July.
The Vibes for DemocratsWhen asked “What best describes how you are feeling about the way things are going in the United States today?”
Ambivalent
5%
Depressed
13%
Angry
10%
Excited
3%
Hopeful
23%
Satisfied
5%
Over-
whelmed
12%
Scared
20%
Unsure
8%
Proud
2%
Before Biden dropped out
Depressed
9%
Ambivalent
4%
Angry
6%
Excited
6%
Hopeful
37%
Over-
whelmed
9%
Satisfied
4%
Scared
15%
Unsure
7%
Proud
2%
After Biden dropped out
Ambivalent
5%
Angry
10%
Depressed
13%
Excited
3%
Hopeful
23%
Satisfied
5%
Overwhelmed
12%
Scared
20%
Unsure
8%
Proud
2%
Before Biden dropped out
Depressed
9%
Ambivalent
4%
Angry
6%
Excited
6%
Hopeful
37%
Overwhelmed
9%
Satisfied
4%
Scared
15%
Proud
2%
Unsure
7%
After Biden dropped out
Depressed
9%
Ambivalent
5%
Angry
10%
Ambivalent
4%
Angry
6%
Depressed
13%
Excited
6%
Excited
3%
Hopeful
37%
Hopeful
23%
Satisfied
5%
Overwhelmed
9%
Overwhelmed
12%
Satisfied
4%
Scared
20%
Scared
15%
Proud
2%
Unsure
8%
Proud
2%
Unsure
7%
Before Biden dropped out
After Biden dropped out
Depressed
9%
Depressed
13%
Ambivalent
5%
Angry
10%
Ambivalent
4%
Angry
6%
Excited
6%
Excited
3%
Hopeful
23%
Hopeful
37%
Satisfied
5%
Overwhelmed
9%
Overwhelmed
12%
Satisfied
4%
Scared
20%
Scared
15%
Unsure
7%
Unsure
8%
Proud
2%
Proud
2%
Before Biden dropped out
After Biden dropped out
Source: Civiqs
Note: Before averages are from April 18 to July 21 and after is from July 22 to October 31. Due to rounding, the total might not equal 100%.
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Biden’s departure had an effect, albeit less dramatic, on Mr. Trump’s team as well. Republican voters’ fear factor and depression went up a percentage point or two, as did their sense of hope. Their anger eased a bit — going from 47 percent of the dominant emotion to 42 percent — but stayed high enough that their aura was still swamped by a deep, burning red. Anger, it seems, is a big part of what defines Trump’s Republican Party, which is likely to surprise exactly no one.
The Vibes for RepublicansWhen asked “What best describes how you are feeling about the way things are going in the United States today?”
Angry
47%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
3%
Overwhelmed
6%
Scared
20%
Depressed
18%
Unsure
3%
Before Biden dropped out
Angry
42%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
4%
Overwhelmed
6%
Depressed
19%
Scared
22%
Unsure
3%
After Biden dropped out
Angry
47%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
3%
Overwhelmed
6%
Scared
20%
Depressed
18%
Unsure
3%
Before Biden dropped out
Angry
42%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
4%
Overwhelmed
6%
Depressed
19%
Scared
22%
Unsure
3%
After Biden dropped out
Angry
47%
Angry
42%
Ambivalent
2%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
4%
Hopeful
3%
Overwhelmed
6%
Overwhelmed
6%
Depressed
19%
Scared
20%
Scared
22%
Depressed
18%
Unsure
3%
Unsure
3%
Before Biden dropped out
After Biden dropped out
Angry
47%
Angry
42%
Ambivalent
2%
Ambivalent
2%
Hopeful
4%
Hopeful
3%
Overwhelmed
6%
Overwhelmed
6%
Depressed
19%
Scared
20%
Scared
22%
Depressed
18%
Unsure
3%
Unsure
3%
Before Biden dropped out
After Biden dropped out
Source: Civiqs
Note: Before averages are from April 18 to July 21 while after is from July 22 to October 31. Excluded survey responses that equaled less than 1%. Due to rounding, the total might not equal 100%.
\n\n",mediaComponent:"Graphic"},hed:"The Vibes for Republicans",leadin:"When asked “What best describes how you are feeling about the way things are going in the United States today?”","leadin-desktop":"When asked “What best describes how you are feeling about the way things are going in the United States today?”",caption:"",altText:"Two Polaroid aura photographs side by side comparing the difference of how republicans have felt about the way things are going in the United States before Biden dropped out and after. The majority felt anger in both scenarios, 47 percent before and 42 percent after.",label:"",source:"Source: Civiqs",note:"Note: Before averages are from April 18 to July 21 while after is from July 22 to October 31. Excluded survey responses that equaled less than 1%. Due to rounding, the total might not equal 100%.",credit:"",textAlign:"center",maxWidth:"1350px",marginInline:true,marginBlock:true}}],theme:"news",sheets:{}},"uses":{"url":1}}]; Promise.all([ import("https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2024-10-11-election-vibes/bcd83ff3-305a-47fc-a506-c2b8ceee8112/_assets/_app/immutable/entry/start.WR1BNsmV.js"), import("https://static01.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2024-10-11-election-vibes/bcd83ff3-305a-47fc-a506-c2b8ceee8112/_assets/_app/immutable/entry/app.Ce2jT8g7.js") ]).then(([kit, app]) => { kit.start(app, element, { node_ids: [0, 4], data, form: null, error: null, params: {}, route: {"id":"/gop-vibe"} }); }); } Charting the vibe shift, day by dayTwo-day change in responses to the question “What best describes how you are feeling about the way things are going in the United States today?”
Biden withdrew from race
30 percentage
point change
20
First Trump assassination attempt
10
Biden/Trump debate
Harris/Trump debate
Democrats
10 percentage
point change
Republicans
June
May
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Biden withdrew from race
30 percentage
point change
Vance chosen as Trump VP
20
Second Trump assassination attempt
First Trump assassination attempt
Walz chosen as Harris VP
10
Biden/Trump
debate
Harris/Trump debate
Trump conviction
Democrats
10 percentage
point change
Republicans
May
June
July
August
September
October
Source: Civiqs
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