The race to win over undecided voters may not have been settled after Tuesday night’s debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the latter of whom was widely credited with a strong performance. However, many Americans who watched the televised sparring told Reuters that they remain unconvinced that she is the better candidate.
In a survey of 10 undecided voters, Reuters asked respondents to watch the 90-minute debate and share their reactions. Surprisingly, six voters said they would certainly or most likely vote for Trump, while three leaned toward Harris, and one remained undecided. Several respondents mentioned that Harris would need to provide clearer plans for funding her priorities before gaining their support. Additionally, five voters described her answers on tackling high housing and goods prices as “vague.”
“I still don’t know what she is for,” said Mark Kadish, 61, an entrepreneur in Florida. “There was no real meat and bones for her plans.” Robert Wheeler, a 48-year-old security firm executive in Nevada, was previously leaning towards Harris. However, he indicated that her posturing and platitudes left him feeling more committed to voting for Trump. He stated that Trump has actually proposed tangible policies to back up his promises. “I felt like the whole debate was Kamala Harris telling me why not to vote for Donald Trump instead of why she’s the right candidate,” Wheeler said.
Although the sample size is small, the focus group of four women and six men—eight White and two Black—is reflective of the diverse range of undecided voters in key battleground states. Despite claims from pundits and mainstream media that Harris decisively won the debate, warning signs emerged on Wednesday morning as more undecided voters told reporters they weren’t as impressed with the vice president as initially suggested.
You can sense the desperation and fear coming from the regime: “We rigged that debate perfectly and made it impossible for him to look good, and it still didn’t work??” pic.twitter.com/8dNmtkd7PZ
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 11, 2024
Much of the 90-minute broadcast on ABC News centered around heated exchanges between the two candidates. Harris harshly criticized Trump’s policies and leadership, prompting sharp responses from Trump. While she briefly addressed tax benefits for working families and small businesses, Harris largely avoided offering detailed answers on key issues. This approach could prove problematic, especially after her campaign was recently caught lifting entire policy sections from President Joe Biden’s website. Notably, past stances like decriminalizing all hard drugs and funding gender transition surgeries for migrants and prisoners have quietly been removed from her campaign platform.
