NPR

It's Been A Hard Year. 5 Families On How 2020 Will Shape Their Vote For President

The spread of COVID-19, the ensuing economic crisis and the reckoning around social injustice has made 2020 a year like none other. NPR wanted to know how these events might shape political choices.
Dr. Chris Hoover (left) and Dr. Connie Liu (right) walk through their home with their children Taro, 3, and Hiro, 4 months, in Gallup, N.M. On a short reporting trip across the Southwest, NPR met very different families and asked them the same simple question: What's been keeping you at night?

2020 has been brutal in America.

The relentless spread of COVID-19, the ensuing economic crisis and the reckoning around social injustice has made this a year like none other.

NPR wanted to know how these cataclysmic, consequential events have affected American families and how those experiences might shape their political choices in the upcoming presidential election.

On a short reporting trip across the Southwest, we met five very different families across the political spectrum and asked them all the same simple question: What's been keeping you up at night?

One thing was clear from their answers: Americans are under a great deal of stress. From a father on the verge of losing his business to a new widow worried about violence in big cities whereMorning Edition

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
With 'Bleisure' And Fewer Workers, The American Hotel Is In Recovery
A new type of traveler is part of the post-pandemic reset at U.S. hotels, along with fewer daily cleanings and pancake-slinging machines.
NPR5 min readWorld
Trapped In Rafah, U.S. Medical Volunteers Say They Can't Save Lives And Can't Evacuate
At the European Hospital in Rafah, there are shortages of pain medication, antibiotics, even bandages, American volunteers say they are unable to save lives — and unable to evacuate to safety.
NPR1 min read
Deadline Extended: NPR Student Podcast Challenge entries are now due May 31
Entries for our sixth annual contest for middle and high school students (and our first-ever fourth grade competition) are now due Friday, May 31 at midnight E.T.

Related Books & Audiobooks