Persuaded voters agree with Harris, but want more details

CNN
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Joan London knew from the start of Tuesday’s debate that she wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump. But by the end of the debate, she found herself in a totally unusual position: ready to vote for a Democrat for president for the first time. In Pennsylvania, a battleground state, by the way.

“Harris clearly won,” said London, a lawyer who lives in conservative Berks County. “And I’m now voting for her even though I have serious political differences.”

London became a Republican at 18, admiring Ronald Reagan’s conservatism. Earlier this year, she voted for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the primary, then changed her registration to independent because she views Trump as an angry populist.

Until this week’s debate in Philadelphia, she had planned to stick to her conservative principles and vote for another Republican candidate. But that changed when the former president repeatedly refused to say he thought it was essential for the United States to support Ukraine. Trump has said he wants to end the war and suggested he could broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“Conservatives don’t negotiate with communist dictators who invade other countries,” London said in a post-debate text. “It’s going to take a decisive loss for Trump to reform the Republican Party, and I’ll be back when that happens.”

London is one of more than 70 voters across 10 states who are part of our All Over The Map project, an effort to track the 2024 campaign through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in key swing states or are part of critical voting blocs.

His decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris was the most significant shift in the response we received from this group of voters during the debate and in the days that followed. None of our voters who had chosen a candidate before Tuesday’s onstage meeting changed their minds, although several Trump supporters expressed concerns about his performance.

“She was ready,” said Chris Mudd, a Trump loyalist from Cedar Falls, Iowa. But he added: “Trump can bring positive change. Kamala is all hats and no cattle.”

Lisa Reissman, a Harris supporter in Wisconsin, had a very different view.

“Harris was remarkable,” Reissman said. “Trump came across as an irrational and desperate man.”

Enthusiasm can matter in tight races, and the debate among Democrats looks very different now that Harris has replaced President Joe Biden as the nominee. Even Democrats who doubted Biden but would have voted for him anyway are using much more forceful language to convey their support for Harris, including in their debate assessments.

“She showed us tonight that she is a president,” said Davette Baker, an African-American Democratic activist from Milwaukee.

Larry Malinconico, a geology professor at Lafayette College in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is among that group.

“While I have always been willing to do whatever it takes to prevent Trump from gaining power, I am now much more convinced that Vice President Harris is an excellent candidate for president.”

Several voters who were undecided or favored Harris or Trump but open to a change of candidate gave Harris more positive reviews of her debate performance. Significantly, however, several said she was not specific enough in explaining her policy proposals.

“Kamala Harris says she wants to help the middle class, but how?” said Linda Rooney, a Haley voter who lives in suburban Philadelphia. She also expressed concern about Harris’ shift in stance on fracking and other issues.

“That’s why I don’t trust her,” said Rooney, who voted for Trump in 2016 but for Joe Biden in 2020. “She’s not a moderate.”

Rooney would rather not vote for Trump, but is not a fan of the Biden-Harris economic policies.

“It’s so disappointing,” she said of Trump’s response to her conduct on January 6, 2021. “Kamala is right to call him out on it.”

Rooney sent us two emails telling us that Trump was “off topic” during the immigration debates.

“I still can’t vote for her,” Rooney said of Harris. “But I don’t want to vote for Trump. (…) I feel so alone in the middle.”

Rooney is from Media, Delaware County. Cynthia Sabatini, a Reagan Republican and Trump voter, agrees. She’s considering writing a conservative column or voting third-party unless Harris convinces her to vote for her. The vice president didn’t do that Tuesday night.

“She’s a good debater,” Sabatini said. “But I think she has to answer the questions in a meaningful way.” Specifically, Sabatini said Harris failed from the start when asked whether she thought Americans were better off than they were four years ago and when asked again about the border.

“I’m undecided,” she said after the debate.

Antonio Munoz also said Harris could have won a bigger debate if she had been more specific and responsive.

Munoz is a veteran and former police officer who now runs a taco restaurant and catering business in Las Vegas.

He sat down for the debate, leaning toward Harris but not ready to commit. He stayed afterward.

“Kamala was very composed,” Munoz said of the vice president. “Trump was Trump. Killing babies after they’re born. Immigrants eating cats and dogs. How do you defend lies like that?”

But Munoz said he needed to hear more before Harris could be assured of his vote in battleground Nevada.

“There’s not enough substance on how to keep moving forward,” Munoz said of his debate performance.

Zoila Sanchez, on the other hand, is firmly on Harris’ side, even though she describes herself as a Reagan Republican.

“His focus on real problems and pragmatic solutions was refreshing,” said Sanchez, a Las Vegas real estate agent. “Donald Trump came across as erratic and out of control. … We need leaders who are grounded in reality.”

Allen Naparalla would also like to hear more from Harris. But he is now ready to commit, after telling us in July, when Biden stepped down, that he did not consider Harris up to the task.

“At this point, I just want to vote for optimism in the world,” said Naparalla, who runs a winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. “We need something to make us happy and cheer us up. Enough of the negativity.”

Other Harris voters rejoiced in her success, distracting and destabilizing Trump.

“A real master class,” said Marvin Boyer, a civil rights activist in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, a county crucial to the voters’ cause. “She was calm, focused and collected. He was defensive, angry and out of control.”

Several Trump supporters also said Harris had successfully destabilized Trump.

“Kamala was able to dodge questions and provoke Donald,” said Natalya Orlando, a Trump voter in New Hampshire. “The lead-up to the debate was exciting, but the debate itself was okay. Nothing new.”

Similarly, Priscilla Forsyth, a lawyer in Sioux City, Iowa, said: “Trump was not at his best and fell for the bait a little too often. But she seemed so fake, especially when she was trying to talk about uniting the country. I will never believe she can or will represent my interests.”

It was a common theme among Trump loyalists: Harris is not authentic.

“Kamala Harris’s incessant posturing and hypocritical theatrics while Trump was speaking came across as immature, rehearsed and off-putting,” said Rachel Kulak, a Christian conservative who lives in suburban Richmond, Virginia.

“Her defensive reactions were not helpful,” Jaclyn Taylor, an Iowa entrepreneur, said of Trump. “Kamala felt insincere for much of the evening.”

Billy Pierce, a Trump supporter from South Carolina, noted Harris’ time in the administration. “I can’t believe Kamala is talking about change after she’s been in office for three and a half years.”

Debbie Katsanos, a Trump supporter in New Hampshire, said: “The status quo has to change. This was a great country at one time, and it’s not anymore.”

Betsy Sarcone, who supported Haley in the Iowa caucuses but plans to vote for Trump in November, said of Harris: “Her memorized, regurgitated lines lack depth.”

Many voters who remain unhappy with their choice even after the Democratic ticket’s leadership change saw nothing Tuesday night to change their disappointment.

“I want better than that,” said Stanley Tremblay, an independent from New Hampshire. “I’m just afraid we’ve dug ourselves a hole we can’t get out of.”

Gina Cilento, a competitive pickleball player who owns a training studio in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, echoed Tremblay’s dismay.

“This is exhausting,” she wrote during the debate. “This makes me so sad. Is this the best our country can do?”