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The anger of Republican primary voters at the political class could have blistered the paint in a conference room during a focus group in Indianapolis.

“We did what we were supposed to do: we wrote the letters and we made the phone calls, and they did not listen,’’ said Marenda Babcock, 60, a freelance writer.

“We’ve lost our voices as constituents,’’ echoed Christopher Berry, 50, who works in agriculture.

Dwight Podgurski, 58, coordinator of a campus ministry, compared Washington to the cesspool depicted in “House of Cards.’’

The voters were part of a focus group convened on Tuesday night by the pollster Peter D. Hart, who asked with some befuddlement why Republicans, who for decades picked presidential nominees with deep governing experience, were throwing the rule out the window. Donald J. Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, who between them poll at more than 50 percent, have no elected experience.

“I think we’re just tired of politicians in general,’’ said Shonda Sonnefield, 40, a homemaker. “They don’t keep their word. Their morals are loose. We’re ready for someone who has not been in that world, whether Carly, Ben or Trump.’’

A focus group has no scientific validity. But it can present a multihued snapshot of voters’ attitudes and emotions, and perhaps hint at where the electorate is heading. A group gathered in January in Denver by Mr. Hart, who checks in with voters for the nonpartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center, presciently revealed voters of both parties craving an outsider. That was months before Mr. Trump or Senator Bernie Sanders, Democrat of Vermont, were taken seriously.

Although Mr. Trump’s lead over the Republican field was confirmed again on Wednesday morning in a Washington Post/ABC poll showing him with 32 percent, the Indianapolis focus group of 12 Republican voters would give his campaign pause. Ten said Mr. Trump would divide the country as president, and eight said America would lose respect in the world. “He’s just going to offend everyone,’’ said one participant. “We like what he says but not how he says it.’’

Mr. Hart asked for a one-word description of Mr. Trump. The answers included “disturbing,’’ “shoots from the hip,’’ “impulsive,’’ “self-serving,’’ “outspoken” and “loud.’’

“He’s too much of an entertainer, and these are serious issues,’’ one voter said.

A Trump supporter said, “I can overlook him being a jerk as long as what he’s doing for the country will better my standard of living.’’

If the small group is typical of others drawn to Mr. Trump, he may end up being a transitional figure on the way to support for Mr. Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, who was widely praised with words like “intelligent,” a “gentleman” and “wise.’’

A plurality in the room, four voters, said Mr. Carson had the best chance of defeating the Democratic nominee.

The voters know little so far about establishment candidates like Gov. John Kasich of Ohio or Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. One establishment figure, Jeb Bush, was well known but no better for it. It was hard to tell if the group had a lower opinion of Mr. Bush or of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.

Asking for a word or phrase to associate with Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Hart elicited the following: “slimy,’’ “traitor,’’ “not trustworthy,’’ “liar’’ and “no thank you.’’

When asked to name the family member Mr. Bush reminded them of, participants said: “ex brother-in-law,’’ “drunk uncle,” “oops brother’’ and “family dog.’’

“I’m very distrustful about everything these days,’’ said Ann Barber, 64, a YMCA instructor, whose first choice is Mrs. Fiorina. “I’m wondering if we’re being manipulated by the press. I love Bobby Jindal but I never hear anything about it. Are they just pushing us toward certain things? Here we are sheep to the slaughter. I wonder.’’