US voters will soon deliver a national verdict on the second presidency of Donald Trump. On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states and state legislatures across the country. The results could have a huge impact on Trump’s final two years in office.

Our reporters have interviewed nine voters across the country and the political spectrum about extremism in US politics, their confidence in the US voting system, what they hope Congress will tackle first and their views of the president’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.

The answers – highlights of which are published below – offer insight into the national mood days before voters head to the polls. The Guardian will return to its voter panel after final votes are cast.

Do you think this election cycle has seen more extreme candidates? If so, who?

Sally Rasmussen 62; Medford, Wisconsin; independent/progressive

The times that we’re living through has created a certain extremism. My bias is that I see the extremism on the right. I see the extremism of Trump’s influence on the candidates, on the electorate and the people that I live with every day here in Taylor county. I’ve not been a fan of Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin. He showed his extremism from the very start, seeking to undermine the 2020 election, voting for war, supporting tariffs, never swerving from the lockstep Maga extremist playbook, essentially.

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

It depends on what you mean by extreme. We have certainly seen way more candidates than usual making it out of the Democratic primaries who do not take billionaire or foreign lobby money, like Angie Nixon [in Florida] or Abdul El-Sayed [in Michigan]. While this shift is seen as electorally threatening to some, most of these candidates who are typically the ones labeled as “extreme” have policy prescriptions that are very close to the average American’s views, especially when it comes to topics like healthcare reform or participation in forever wars. Looking at the other side of the aisle, I do think there has been an emergence of candidates who display an “extreme” level of corruption and bigotry typically only seen coming from the White House these days. Mike Rogers [Republican Senate candidate for Michigan] comes to mind, with his main campaign strategy seemingly being a desperate bid to tie El-Sayed to anything radical or Islamist, and so does Vivek Ramaswamy’s notable doubling-down on a campaign ad implying his gubernatorial opponent [in Ohio] lied about her childhood sexual abuse.

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

Most of the Democratic candidates are extreme. This political cycle has produced more extreme candidates than ever before. I’m 70 years old and I’ve never been involved in active politics. I’ve always voted since I was 18 and I’ve always voted conservative Republican but I’ve never seen anything that’s so extreme. Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan is one that stands out and some have already been elected like the mayor of New York [Zohran Mamdani]. I never thought I would see someone that far left voted in.

Do you think this election will be free and fair?

Sally Rasmussen 62; Medford, Wisconsin; independent/progressive

I believe that at the most local level, it will overwhelmingly be free and fair. And by that I mean that I have a great deal of faith in the town clerks and the county clerks, the people who, at the ground level, oversee elections and whose livelihoods, whose reputations are on the line. On the national level, I have every expectation that the extremists that are currently in power will do whatever they can to, well, to cheat, to break the law, to violate constitutional rights of the people, and to try to deny election results, as happened after the 2020 election.

Patti Fucci 46; Roswell, Georgia; independent/moderate

The election itself will be free and fair as it’s conducted. However, we’re already seeing all the multiple attempts in the past two weeks of different types of intimidation from the justice department trying to interfere with elections. And we’ve seen that in California, we’ve seen it right now in Alaska, we’ve seen it here. So, they’re using the many tactics of intimidation and meddling and propaganda to interfere in the elections. But when I look at the amount of people that have already voted early, I think that’s the biggest guardrail that this election has.

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

I can only hope. I’m thankful for the steps that the Republican party has followed with monitors and people watching the polls because, if an election is won fair and square, I am thrilled. That is the way of the people but, if there’s any cheating going on or one vote that is fraudulent, that vote should be thrown out because that’s not what this nation is based on. In some countries, people have died for fair elections and, unless we have fair elections, it’s to the good of no one.

Morgan Akin 85; Redding, California; Democrat/moderate

Being a poll worker and observing what goes on, I think [elections] go on pretty well anywhere in the country. I think you will see a fair election. Unfortunately, maybe, delayed or not approved by the Trump administration. He’s saying if the GOP loses in Alaska, he’s not going to recognize it. [But] I think the Democrats have been anticipating this all along and have been putting together different ways of challenging him in the courts.

If your party wins next week, what are you hoping they will do first?

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

I am hoping Democrats immediately reinstate and expand the ACA, [the Affordable Care Act], pass a war powers resolution to end engagement with Iran, pass an AI datacenter moratorium, end all military aid to Israel, reverse the White House’s cancellation of federally approved funding, undo the blanket tariffs, release the Epstein files, and scrutinize and impeach the cabinet and president. I also hope they fight to advance Medicare for All, a substantial increase in the federal minimum wage, and robust federal job and housing programs.

Yajaira Martinez 43; Pharr, Texas; independent/disaffected Trump voter

Whichever party wins, I really hope they focus on doing the right thing and bring ICE under control. Right now, here in the Rio Grande valley, ICE is profiling individuals of a certain color, Hispanic people, and they are chasing them down, arresting and assaulting them. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t deport people, but it’s got to be done the right way, the legal way.

Morgan Akin 85; Redding, California; Democrat/moderate

I hope they will first [address] gas prices, food prices, medical costs and interest rates, and all of the things that are hurting the economy right now. I don’t think it’s time to talk about impeachment or anything like that. It would just cause more problems than necessary.

Justin Daniels 45; Detroit, Michigan; Democrat/progressive

Bring civility back to society. It seems as though there’s something going on in society, and there’s a race to the bottom. Democrats had power before, and they spend so much time arguing amongst themselves. I think that when Democrats win, the speed of which society is collapsing will slow down, but it will not stop.

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

If the Republican party wins next week, I hope they will focus on bringing a swift and decisive victory in Iran. They seem to be allergic to winning, whether in individual races, a national agenda or geopolitics, and they need to grow a spine.

Scott Akridge 60; Marietta, Georgia; Democrat/liberal

Stop ICE by any means necessary. Their harmful impact is threatening the lives of innocent people daily, and it makes us look like we’re run by a third world cartel. Obama deported just as many illegal immigrants, focusing on actual criminals and not using unchecked violence against families. No civilians were casually murdered on his watch.

Next, start impeachment proceedings and investigations into all the blatant and rampant corruption that the GOP has repeatedly ignored. If I had my choice, I would choose [Trump’s son-in-law Jared] Kushner as the first target and Trump’s sons to avoid the courts getting in the way with presidential privilege. If they do go after Trump, they should impeach both him and Vance simultaneously since they are in it together.

What do you think of Pete Hegseth? What was your reaction to the idea of livestreaming an execution?

David Ferrari 19; Tallahassee, Florida; Democrat/progressive

I think Pete Hegseth is unfit for the job in almost every possible way. If you can look past his vitriolic attitude toward women and every minority – I find that difficult – he is clearly an incompetent buffoon chosen purely for his loyalty to the president over any real consideration of his capabilities. The livestreamed execution idea is just one of the latest in a series designed to propel America back into some of the darkest chapters of our history. As Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times succinctly put it: “That’s a lynching.”

Sharon Anderson 70; Etowah, Tennessee; Maga Republican

We need a strong leader in any position that we have in the country. If my house is on fire, I wouldn’t want to follow someone who says: ‘Maybe we need to go this way, but I don’t know, let’s sit here and talk a minute and discuss it and find out what we need to do.’ I want somebody to get me by the hair of the head and say: ‘Let’s get the hell out of the house.’ I think that’s Hegseth. I was all for the livestreamed execution. When I first heard it I said: ‘Yeah, I’m going to watch it.’ I’m a mother of five children. Mothers look at things differently. People said, how are you going to protect the children? How many children watched Charlie Kirk get his neck blown out? Now, that wasn’t a choice but that is a part of this world and I believe if someone commits a crime, they should suffer the consequences.

Caleb Davis 22; Greenville, South Carolina; Republican/conservative

Pete Hegseth is a force to be reckoned with. I appreciate his restoration of military culture away from the effeminate mockery of itself that it was under Levine [Admiral Rachel Levine, who is transgender and led the public health corps during the Joe Biden administration]. I’m equally pleased to see the war department retake its original, unashamed title. We’ve been sitting while everyone else pretends not to play the game for too long, and Pete Hegseth has called the world’s bluff. As to the public execution of the traitor that killed several American soldiers, I simply believe it should have been done a long time ago. America is a joke if it can’t execute justice.

Morgan Akin 85; Redding, California; Democrat/moderate

I think he’s the most inadequate person that has ever been in that position. I was in the Marine Corps for 15 years. I’ve seen different secretaries of war, as they like to put it, and he has come up with the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. No 1, he is prejudiced. He’s as prejudiced as Trump is about certain things, women in the military, minorities in the military. He’s gotten rid of many of the top generals and most of them are women, Black people or Latinos. He’s really downgraded the military, and he has no idea what he’s doing in terms of carrying out operations like the one in Iran. I think it was a very poor judgment on his part to even consider something like that. Because again, we’ve never done that in our history. I think it would just be another black mark on his ability to carry out his job.