(CN) - The 2016 presidential campaign has inspired voter strong interest, but as the two major political parties prepare for their respective nominating conventions, satisfaction with the candidates is the lowest it's been in decades, the Pew Research Center said Thursday.
The center's analysis offers a bleak picture of voters' impressions of the presidential campaign and the choices they face in November.
While both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continue to draw thousands to their respective campaign rallies, fewer than half of registered voters in both parties — 43% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans — say they are satisfied with their choices for president, the Pew Research Center said.
What's more, the center found that about four-in-10 voters (41%) say they will have a difficult time choosing between Trump and Clinton because they believe neither would be a good president.
That's the highest level of dissatisfaction in the Democratic and Republican nominees since Vice President Al Gore faced then-former Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000 an election ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial Bush v. Gore decision.
By comparison, only 11 percent of voters contacted by Pew researchers believe either candidate would make a good president the lowest percentage in five presidential election cycles.
Plumbing the reasons behind these woeful numbers, the Pew researchers found no surprise, really that this year's presidential contest is widely viewed as being excessively negative will little, if any focus on the concerns of real Americans.
Just 27% of voters feel the campaign is "focused on important policy debates" seven points lower than researchers found in December, before the primaries began.
When it comes to the issues at the forefront of voters' minds, the economy tops the list, with 84% of voters saying it is very important to their vote.
Terrorism also ranks high across the political spectrum.
In another sign of voter discontent, large numbers of the supporters of both Trump and Clinton view their choice as more of a vote against the opposing candidate than an expression of support for their candidate.
More than half of Trump supporters (55%) view their vote more as a vote against Clinton, while just 41% view it more as a vote for Trump. Among GOP candidates since 2000, only Mitt Romney has drawn as much negative support, Pew said.
In 2012, 58% of Romney supporters saw their vote more as a vote against Barack Obama.
Clinton's supporters are divided — 50% view their vote more as a vote for their own candidate, while 48% say it is more a vote against Trump.
But that is the highest share of a Democratic candidate's supporters viewing their choice as more a vote "against" the opposing candidate dating back to 2000.
In 2008, just a quarter of Obama's supporters said their vote was more a vote against John McCain than a vote for Obama.
However, for all this, voters can't seem to get enough of the coverage of the presidential contest.
