On Wednesday, Times Opinion published its last in a series of focus groups featuring young voters who had been undecided throughout most of the presidential campaign. We had our first conversation with them in August, and, after three months of listening to them talk about the economy, Jan. 6, abortion and more, we wanted to know what they decided. "I can't believe it, but I did end up voting for Donald Trump," said Abigail, a 23-year-old from Virginia. McLane, a 25-year-old from Washington, D.C., said: "I shocked myself and voted for Trump. No one tell my family." Laura, 20, from Maryland, said she wrote in Larry Hogan, a Republican and former Maryland governor who lost his U.S. Senate race, when she saw Kamala Harris "doing a lot of entertainment interviews and not focusing on actual interviews with CNN or Fox News or reputable news sources." She added, "I couldn't, in good faith, vote for Trump knowing that he was facing criminal charges." Chris, a 24-year-old from Florida who, from the beginning of our focus groups, said that Jan. 6 was something he couldn't look past, voted for Harris. All told, seven of our participants voted for Trump, four voted for a third-party candidate or wrote in the name of someone else and two voted for Harris. Their reasons were varied, as were their expectations and hopes for what a second Trump administration held for the country. Several participants wanted continued U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO and an independent Federal Reserve. Most were against mass deportations. Asked what they'd say if they could offer Trump a word of advice, Pierce, 26, from North Carolina, offered the following: "You've got four years. Make them count. Be a president for everybody, especially a president for those who feel scared tonight, those who feel victimized, marginalized." Here's what we're focusing on today:
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Keep a civil tongue.