How 16 undecided voters are weighing their 2026 election options

Americans who haven't picked a side in this fall's congressional elections are mostly unhappy with Democrats and Republicans alike, and rising prices dominate their thinking. NBC News talked with 16 of the 5% of respondents in its September national poll who couldn't say which party should run Congress. In that same poll, 50% preferred a Democratic majority and 45% a Republican one, so this small group could shape the makeup of Congress in 2027. Nearly all of them named expensive living as a leading worry, and many doubt either party grasps their situation.

Their stories were concrete. James Morton, a 67-year-old retired Colorado truck driver who backed Donald Trump in 2024, is leaning toward third-party candidates. Luke Melanson, 49, a retired construction worker in Louisiana, says he eats less because of grocery bills and wants candidates who are not lawyers or ultra-rich. Darien Thompson, 25, a South Carolina security guard, worries about gas and housing. Ibraham, a 42-year-old Ohio truck driver, says his weekly diesel bill rose from $2,000 to as much as $3,700, and he plans to vote for Sherrod Brown mainly to oppose Republicans.

Several Democratic-leaning undecideds described a similar motive: checking Trump and his party.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →