How one swing state voter watched the debate to become undecided : NPR

DUNWOODY, Ga. – A small, but potentially crucial slice of voters remain undecided about the presidential election this fall, including in tossup Georgia. Just outside Atlanta, Cameron Lewellen, a father of three little kids, is one of them.

In 2020, Lewellen voted for Joe Biden. But four years prior, he cast his ballot for Trump. And in the last election, he split his ticket between the Republican candidate for governor and the Democrat running for U.S. Senate. With early voting in 2024 a few weeks away, Lewellen has felt stuck.

“This is tough,” he says.

Suburban voters like Lewellen have helped shape recent elections in this closely divided state, as some independents and disaffected Republicans drifted from their party in the Trump era. Metro Atlanta’s suburbs are also growing and becoming more diverse.

After Biden notched a win by just under 12,000 votes in Georgia, voters in 2022 sent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock back to Washington and reelected Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

On Tuesday night, Lewellen tuned into the debate in an effort to help crystallize his choice this fall. Lewellen settled into a plush, cream couch across from a big screen TV and a spread of pizzas. On a scratch piece of paper, he wrote in permanent marker the names of the two candidates and drew a line down the middle for his notes.

Lewellen says he soured on Trump as his presidency grew so chaotic, he began to fear for the stability of government, especially after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. At this point, Lewellen says he knows who Trump is, but sees Harris as more of a question mark. He has some serious reservations.

“She didn’t earn my vote,” Lewellen says. “She just was basically anointed because she was the vice president, second in charge.”

And while Lewellen felt Harris got off to a slow start in the debate, declining to directly answer a question on whether Americans were better off financially four years ago, he says he came away encouraged by her proposals to speed the construction of new homes and offer tax incentives for starting a small business. He also says he felt turned off when Trump did not offer any regrets about his conduct on Jan. 6.

“As I think about it, it makes me angry because I think that’s crap,” Lewellen says. “Take responsibility.”

And when Trump doubled down on his remarks about Harris’ race and identity, Lewellen says it stung.

“It’s offensive to a lot of us,” Lewellen says. “Because you don’t wake up deciding to be Black. I’m an African American and I’ve had people in the past, for me speaking the King’s English, ask, ‘Why are you talking white?’ or whatever.”

His vote is coming into sharper focus

Lewellen says while he went into the debate leaning toward Trump, now he says he is more likely to vote for Harris. But he worries about the markets and interest rates and has been searching for a job for the last several months. He notes that the pace of hiring has slowed. Finding something that fits his experience in healthcare and technology has been slow-going. He says if the economy takes a turn for the worse this fall, he will reevaluate his vote again.

“I want a president that’s going to be really favorable to small business because that’s how I could ultimately leave a legacy for my family. “But if you’re telling me we’re going to wake up sometime in October and have a 10 percent slide on the market, I don’t think Harris can run from that.”

Lewellen says it is frustrating when people press why he has not made up his mind yet. He says he has always valued carefully studying the issues and learning about a candidate’s policies. He thinks both candidates have upsides and drawbacks.

At first thought, Lewellen says the choice has not been gnawing at him. “You know, day to day, I think about my kids and what we’re going to eat and soccer games and baseball.” But reflecting on the debate and the many topics he is thinking about, like conflicts abroad, abortion, affordability and democracy, he reconsidered.

“I guess it does weigh on me,” he says.