SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It has been said that in politics, there are two emotions - hope and fear. As our series We, The Voters continues, we're going to hear a little bit about the later today. Maayan Silver from member station WUWM in Milwaukee asked voters in the key swing state of Wisconsin what is keeping them up at night when they think of politics and the November election.
MAAYAN SILVER, BYLINE: A lot of voters responded when we asked them what's top of mind for them this election season. Let's start with Tory Lowe from Milwaukee.
TORY LOWE: Oh, I'm a radio host for 101.7 The Truth. I'm a Black man, and I'm 48 years old. I heavily identify as an independent because I'm like Wisconsin. Whoever has my best interest, that's where I'm going. You know what? What keeps me up at night is the inflation, the price of groceries, the price of gas. Also, what keeps me up at night is what's going on in our communities with the crime and things like that. 'Cause I'm an advocate. I deal with a lot of homicides. I deal with a lot of missing people. I deal with a lot of issues - civil and human rights issues. So a lot of that keeps me up all night. I'm definitely leaning toward Donald Trump, 100%.
SILVER: So that's Tory Lowe. Next is Lena Eng from New Berlin, Wis.
LENA ENG: I am a retired accountant, stay-at-home mom and empty-nested now, and so I do a lot of volunteering. I'm an evangelical Christian, and I believe that truth matters and character counts. I think the two-party system is broken, but I do think that there's a little bit more openness on the Democratic side to be part of the solution to fixing it.
What keeps me up at night is the direction that our country is headed. And I think about how life is for my children right now - the housing costs and the student debt that some people have, the inability to be able to buy homes for the younger generation. The inequality will just continue to get wider and wider, and that's just not good for our country. We need a strong middle class.
SILVER: Lena was still undecided when we spoke but said she's leaning towards Harris. While she's not super comfortable with Democratic policies, she likes the vice president's character more than she likes Donald Trump's. Next, let's hear from author and advocate Elizabeth Brown from Milwaukee.
ELIZABETH BROWN: What keeps me up at night is the fact that I've worked my whole life. I was born in this country. I barely can pay my bills. Health insurance is not an option. Life insurance is not an option. Right now, you know, I'm making life decisions at the gas pump. Food prices - I'm worried about the future for my daughter because right now I'm seeing families - adult kids having to move back in with them as American citizens. But there's billions of dollars for individual who broke the law to come here. I can't vote Democratic, though, so it's either between Trump or the couch for me.
SILVER: Finally, here's Rich Eng from New Berlin. He's Lena's husband. We heard from her a moment ago.
RICH ENG: So I'm retired, but I spent over three decades as an executive at GE HealthCare. Oh, many identities - I'm an evangelical Christian, a husband and a father, and I'm Asian - American-born Chinese. I am 58 this year. So I am a conservative and not sure that means the same as Republican anymore. I am voting for Harris this time.
What keeps me up at night is the inability of Congress to do anything and the rising threat of potential violence amongst the American people. I think because of all of the rhetoric, many people believe that political violence is justified. I don't think it's ever justified. I think we all need to love each other as our fellow Americans. If we could do that, learn to find common ground and learn to solve problems, then maybe I'll sleep better at night.
SILVER: That was Rich Eng, Elizabeth Brown, Lena Eng and Tory Lowe - all Wisconsin voters sharing what's on their minds this crucial election year.
For NPR News, I'm Maayan Silver in Milwaukee.
DETROW: And you can hear more reporting from Wisconsin all this week as our series We, The Voters continues on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED and on npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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