'So high stakes': Experts share what’s 'causing the anxiety' about the election
With a week to go before Election Day and polls of all the major battleground states locked in a statistical tie, voters' anxiety is at a fever pitch. But some experts think there's one underlying factor that's heightening tensions across the country.
The Washington Post recently quoted Quinn Cahill, Massachusetts-based insurance actuary who confided to the publication that he's stuck in a "constant doomscroll" of election-related news. He said that while there is a steady drumbeat of "little things that, in reality, don’t matter and don’t affect people," he's also gravitating toward the school of thought that maybe all of it matters given how close the election is expected to be.
"It might matter to a handful of people," Cahill said. "And that’s I think what’s causing the anxiety right now."
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Another source in the Post's article was North Carolina-based therapist Tracey Laszloffy, who said that a recent client was worried that the presence of a Republican yard sign could end up being what swings the 2024 election, given the Tar Heel State's status as a hard-fought battleground state with 16 electoral votes.
"What if it comes down to just a few votes? And it’s influencing people? And what if those few votes could make the difference?" The client reportedly said, according to Laszloffy.
Laszloffy told the Post that while she tries her best to console her clients and convince them that the fate of the country won't be determined by a handful of lawn signs, she also acknowledges that there's plenty to be worried about depending on what happens next week.
"This stuff is so high‐stakes,” she said. “I don’t want to sound dramatic with life or death consequences, but it is."
READ MORE: 'Pretty narrow window': Here's how the 2024 election will be decided by razor-thin margins
The Post's Ben Terris, Maura Judkis and Jesús Rodríguez wrote that there's any number of factors that could prove decisive. This includes everything from "locker-room-talk-loving Barstool bros, sex-positive members of the Daddy gang, childless cat ladies, pro-life conservatives, closet sexists, swing-state Puerto Ricans, “uncommitted” voters in Michigan, college-aged voters in Wisconsin, displaced voters in North Carolina, tailgaters in Georgia, ticket-splitters in Arizona, fracking enthusiasts in Pennsylvania, Polish voters, Teamsters, Polish Teamsters who love fracking, McDonald’s lovers, single-issue Burger King partisans, alpha nerds for Elon Musk, wellness moms for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., #girldads for Taylor Swift, party animals for Bad Bunny and Republican MAGA skeptics who would be willing to vote for Trump if he just stops insulting Nikki Haley (if such people exist)."
“I do share the view that from a demographics perspective, everything matters,” former Republican Tim Miller told the Post. “All of these groups matter. And you have to be able to communicate with multiple groups at once.”
READ MORE: 'God help us': 2024 Electoral College could be decided by this lone congressional district
Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).
