ver recent months, I have had many hour-long conversations on the upcoming elections with friends, acquaintances, colleagues and discursive parents in pick-up lines – people from diverse nationalities, religions and economic backgrounds. Many of these exchanges have been enlightening. Some boil down to oversimplified rejection of the Left’s ‘mindless destruction of American values.’

“Did you see,” or “Did you know,” or “Imagine what would happen if,” are almost always directed at Democrats who haven’t contextualised their liberal-progressive policies within a notoriously diverse vote bank.

Issues of election integrity, political violence, threat to minorities and women and disenfranchisement are almost never on the table; not even climate urgency, a balanced Supreme Court, or AI regulations. Issues having long term implications sustained only through consensus-driven policy making and, this needs emphasis, a steady leadership. Many of the people I have spoken to seem to have taken Trump’s word for it, “I am your retribution.” The more he is seen as a threat to democracy by his opponents, the more his support base is convinced that he is their saviour.

Make-America-Great-Again runs on wholesale unverified content across platforms with a surprisingly loyal audience, instigating mistrust and rigid political positions. Liberal media, on the other hand, is serving left-liberal direction as the only redemption from a possible Trump second term, further antagonising Trump-leaning voters. In an election fixated on personalities, voters are willing to compromise on personal flaws for more decisive action on economy, healthcare, immigration, access to abortion and gender-related policies. For many Democrats, Harris is the daughter-in-law you know you might like; better clearly than the one you know you’ll never like.

Political violence and misinformation have gone mainstream, again. Researchers who worked on selection and interpretation of media political messaging point out how online communities, driven by AI proliferate conspiracy theories at the cost of democratic discourse and diplomacy, feeding off xenophobic and homophobic stereotypes. “Did you see the video of thousands of them just walking in?” an Iranian American mother asked me at a game.

Trump is unimaginatively crude with his stance on illegal immigration. His heavy-handed crackdown on illegal immigrants; conspiracy theories about gang violence; top-priority US-Mexico border wall, have been rebranded as a moral obligation to protect American borders. Surprise: Hispanic voters have allied themselves with Republicans on this. Traditionally a Democratic group, there is an 8-point surge in their support for the Republican nominee.

Trump’s debate gaffe about immigrants eating pets could’ve cost any candidate his presidency a few decades ago, but people on both sides have grown impervious to his insults and GOP leaders have reconciled with his popularity. More importantly, voters are apprehensive of Kamala Harris’s handling of the border crossings as vice president. She is still struggling to regain the traditional Hispanic vote for Democrats, especially in the Sun Belt states. Her own immigrant identity, while charming America’s middle class, hasn’t helped her record on immigration.

Make-America-Great-Again runs on wholesale unverified content across platforms with a surprisingly loyal audience, instigating mutual mistrust and firm political positions. Liberal media, on the other hand, is serving left-liberal direction as the only redemption from a possible Trump second term, further antagonising Trump-leaning voters.

For her opponents, Kamala Harris stands for something more menacing than border mismanagement: an extreme-left California prosecutor extending Silicon Valley’s liberal elite agenda. “Imagine! Your child goes to school a boy and comes home a girl?” shuddered a friend and a mother of a ten-year-old boy. On a recent trip to Salt Lake City in Utah, a religious community with a predominantly Mormon population, I pointed out the rarity of a religiously orthodox community welcoming gay members. “We believe in every person’s right to choose and accept their lifestyle choice. What we push back against is shoving it down our throats.” He was referring to a common perception that LGBTQ+ agenda – loosely defined as a manufactured visibility of same-sex relations in all social and political aspects of daily lives – is nurtured by an elite indifferent to religious and moral sentiments of the majority. Some Democrats-led states have gone too far in setting precedence that allow greater government interference in parenting and educating children about gender rights. In other words, diversity works as long as it benefits me.

Parents of young children, especially working mothers, remain vital for both parties. Harris frequently alludes to her middle-class values, wooing young families through family-friendly economic policies and healthcare benefits, and to young women (millions of whom are first-time voters) through promises of better control over reproductive rights. If she wins, it may be thanks to a strong female vote.

This year’s elections are taking place in a world where two teenage girls, Denmark’s Greta Thunberg and Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, are world leaders on girls’ rights and environmental justice. Women vote across race, religion and age has been critical as female dominance in workforce and politics swells. Hence, reproductive rights are one of the primary concerns, especially since views on both sides are extreme, and the Supreme Court has a conservative majority.

Harris’s pick for vice president, Tim Walz, frequently brings up his family’s journey with reproductive treatments. Trump’s pick, JD Vance, on the other hand, speak for a Republican-leaning base of pro-birth and anti-IVF voters who represent conservative stance for minimum scientific interference in childbirth. While Trump cedes to these hardliners by allowing states to make their own laws, Harris wants nothing short of Roe vs Wade reinstated.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-war protests across American universities have been largely concentrated in elite universities but a majority of Americans demand immediate ceasefire. Unlike post 9/11 elections when the thirst for blood was considered justified, Americans largely support diplomatic avenues. The stronger subgroup here is also the young voters for whom buying a house is an immediate concern unlike US-funded missiles in Middle East and Ukraine. Kamala Harris, a democrat, is seen too weak to abandon her predecessor’s path, who recently announced at General Assembly that a two-state solution is the only acceptable outcome. Trump, on the other hand, offers little more than slogans of immediate ceasefire without laying out a clear path to that end.

Elections are inherently about hero worship. This time Americans find themselves without one they want to worship. While Trump is accused of hijacking the GOP, Democratic leadership has been unable to field a candidate with strong record and a favorable standing among non-committed voters.

The author is a freelance writer based in the US. She can be reached at sikandar.sarah@gmail.com.