Several pollsters have reported a significant increase in the approval rating of Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance following his commanding debate victory over Democratic challenger Tim Walz on Tuesday. Polls and focus groups conducted in the hours after the debate have yielded highly favorable results for the Trump-Vance campaign. Vance performed exceptionally well in social media polls and was declared the winner in surveys conducted by CNN, NBC News, Fox News, and others. The debate also seems to have contributed to a substantial rise in Vance’s favorability among voters.
According to a CNN poll, Vance began the night with a favorability rating of -22. After the debate, it had declined to -3 among the network’s left-leaning viewers, marking a 19-point swing over the course of the debate. According to a CBS News/YouGov poll, 40 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Vance before the debate. This increased to 49 percent after the debate, while the number of people who viewed him unfavorably decreased by eight points over the course of the night. Additionally, four percent of respondents remained undecided after the debate.
Left-leaning pundits were even forced to admit that Vance had a favorable showing. “I think we shouldn’t lose track, I think even in the civility of the fact that J.D. Vance came to this debate to land a bunch of punches, and he did. He landed a lot of punches in between all the niceties and all of that,” said CNN’s Abby Phillip.
An “overwhelming majority” of focus group participants told CNN following the debate that they believed Vance (R-OH) won. They reported that the Ohio Republican’s confidence and swagger were evident in the much-anticipated debate, which left Walz at a disadvantage.
The virtual panel of 15 swing state voters mostly agreed that former President Donald Trump’s running mate commanded the two-hour debate. One participant called Vance “battle tested and very ready” to serve as the next vice president. “You can just see that he went to Yale,” the man told the CNN host. “He’s very intelligent, and he reassured a lot of people.” The panel, convened by pollster Frank Luntz, served as vindication that Vance’s preparations heading into Tuesday night paid off.
Another participant praised Vance for demonstrating a “strong control of the facts,” particularly during a heated exchange where he criticized Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris for infringing on Americans’ First Amendment rights by pressuring social media companies to ban or blacklist users who spoke out against pandemic lockdown mandates. “He ran the whole show,” another surmised while a third added, “He remained steady during the whole performance, and I was very impressed with him being very sincere and authentic.”
A snap poll conducted by Politico in the hours following the debate reveals that both Republicans and Democrats retreated to their respective corners when asked who won the night. CNN’s panel suggests that Vance may have performed particularly well in appealing to undecided voters who tuned into the first and only debate between the two running mates. Additionally, Walz’s struggle to maintain his composure throughout most of the night certainly didn’t help his case.
Final focus group vote tonight after the #VPDebate: 12-2 in favor of JD Vance pic.twitter.com/LgahO2za7C
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 2, 2024
