North Carolina voters express disgust with 2016 campaign

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--These are distressing and frustrating times for undecided voters. With Election Day less than two weeks away, it remains very difficult for many of them to make up their minds between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump, largely because each candidate is disliked so intensely.

All this was vividly clear at a focus group of undecided voters convened by Democratic pollster Peter Hart Tuesday evening in Charlotte. All 12 of the participants said they weren't happy with either major-party candidate. And minor-party candidates were only an afterthought, with only one participant even considering a vote for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.

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The issues most on the participants' minds were potential appointments to the Supreme Court, economic growth and jobs, health care and the threat from terrorism. But issues were not paramount, partly because the participants said the news media were focusing so much on the personal side of the candidates, which these voters said was unfortunate. Yet even though they didn't like the news coverage, the participants seemed most animated by their assessments of the character and values of Trump and Clinton.

Asked by moderator Hart to describe Clinton in a word, they came up with "liar" (repeatedly), "above the law," untrustworthy," and "sleazy." Asked to describe Trump, their responses included "hothead," "egomaniac," "bombastic," "liar," and "businessman" (repeatedly)."

Two of them said the campaign reminded them of a brutal boxing match. One mentioned the original "Rocky" movie starring Sylvester Stallone and the other compared it to the vicious real-life fights between heavyweights Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. A third participant said the campaign reminded him of the Vietnam war, a costly conflict with "no good outcome." Several complained about the descent of the campaign into accusations of sexual improprieties and innuendoes that they were embarrassed to explain to their children.

Katie Burak, 30, a financial planner, said of Clinton, "She's too well-prepared, too well-spoken. I don't see her as a human being. I don't see her as relatable." Donna Ryan, 57, a retired finance director, added: "I don't feel that I know her." But Ryan also had serious problems with Trump. "I'm afraid of him," she said, adding that sometimes "I see a temper tantrum, like a little boy."

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Jon Johnson, 35, a welding technician and African-American, said Clinton struck him as "the lesser of two evils," which caused a few other participants to nod their heads in agreement.

Moderator Hart summed up: "They've watched these two candidate very closely" and are reacting very negatively to them. These voters are "tremendously upset with what this campaign is all about," which Hart described as "a campaign of personal destruction."

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The biggest winner was first lady Michelle Obama. Everyone had high praise for her, and she was described as "classy," "charismatic," "lovely," and "wholesome." Hart said she has emerged as "the moral voice in this election."

The focus group was sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Most of the latest polls give Clinton an advantage nationally and in most battleground states. But undecided votes could make the differences in many places.

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