Undecided voters form just 9 million out of the 235 million eligible to vote in the United States but they hold sway in deeply contested states like Florida, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Colorado.
For many, trust, women and Hillary do not mix well. Sexism, xenophobia and Trump do not go well either.
This voter faces a grim choice between two polar opposite candidates with vexing moral and character issues.
Is Hillary genuine? A colleague of mine, a 40-year-old middle class white woman asks.
Over the next 100 days, Hillary has lots to do to improve her trustworthiness among educated white middle class women. The Benghazi trials, the email snafu and her work with the Clinton Foundation all remain fresh in the minds of undecided voters.
It’s true that she made history becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party to become the president of the United States. However, this breaking of the glass ceiling and gender disparity did not create much excitement among the undecided group.
Will we see an extension of the Obama administration with Bill Clinton holding a set of remotes in hand? Or, is a dynasty in the making with Chelsea Clinton booking a future seat in the White House?
Meanwhile, Trump has promised the less educated factory worker in Middle America a quintessential American middle class dream: cities with manicured lawns, great school systems, superb infrastructure, a hefty pension and lots of stability.
Sadly, a lot of undecided voters know that the Americana of the 70s doesn’t exist anymore.
The American middle class dream is now in the hands of an inter-connected global economic network that can cause uneasy disruptions.
As we weather these days of tumult, a good job market and low unemployment is adding strength to each candidate’s chances.
Over the next 100 days, expect Hillary to fight for the middle class, highlight the breaking of the glass ceiling with gender equality, see her pamper minorities and soothe immigrants. Trump will focus on his grand vision of restoring American jobs, protecting the country from Islamic terrorists and dismantling Obamacare.
He will tell a story of bringing back American prosperity compared to his version of today’s chaos-filled America tethering on the verge of failure.
Undecided voters often highlight unemployment, social security and immigration as major concerns facing the country.
But their major problem is on deciding between a savvy, capitalist self-promoter and a semi-socialist, tenured public servant.
Do either have what it takes to run the self-described “greatest country on earth?”
The next 100 days will tell who the lesser evil will be.
(Sarat Pratapchandran is a US-based writer whose career spans content management, philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. A master’s in mass communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and Kerala University, he now works as a fund raiser for a major US-based health sciences university)