American voters thought Vice President Kamala Harris handily beat Republican nominee Donald Trump in Tuesday night’s presidential debate, according to a CNN flash poll conducted Tuesday night.
Sixty-three percent of voters who watched the debate thought Harris won, while just 37% of viewers said the same of Trump. Before the debate, the same voters were split 50-50 on who they expected to prevail.
Throughout the 90-minute head-to-head between the two candidates, Harris showed composure, wit and a steadiness in her responses intentionally designed to bait Trump.
It was one of Harris' first candid opportunities to explain her positions in he general election, something voters wanted. In a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, 28% of those surveyed said they needed to learn more about Harris, compared to 9% of voters who said the same about Trump.
While it’s too early to know if Tuesday night was enough to fundamentally change the race, the debate seems to be a win for Harris.
The Washington Post asked 25 uncommitted swing-state voters who they thought won the debate and all but two said Harris.
“Trump was on defense. Harris stuck to her points, was coherent and frankly, more professional than I have ever seen her. Trump missed too many opportunities,” one man told The Post.
A group of Gen Z voters told GBH News they thought Harris was the decisive winner of Tuesday night’s showdown.
Media analysts and even some Republicans also agreed that Harris came out on top.
“She was exquisitely well prepared, she laid traps, and he chased every rabbit down every hole instead of talking about the things that he should have been talking about,” former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said in an interview on ABC News. “This is the difference between someone who is well prepared and someone who is unprepared."
Pressure on Harris to have a good night was high after President Joe Biden’s disastrous June debate performance, which eventually led to him stepping down as the Democratic nominee.
According to CNN’s poll, Harris improved dramatically on the president's performance, with 67% of viewers saying Trump had outperformed Biden that night.
