Joan London knew when Tuesday’s debate began she would not vote for Donald Trump. But when it ended, she was in a most unfamiliar place: ready to cast her first vote for a Democrat for president. In battleground Pennsylvania, by the way.
“Harris clearly won,” said London, an attorney who lives in conservative Berks County. “And I’m now voting for her even though I have many serious policy differences.”
London became a Republican when she turned 18, a fan of Ronald Reagan’s brand of conservatism. Earlier this year, she cast a primary vote for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, then switched her registration to independent because she sees Trump as an angry populist.
Until this week’s debate in Philadelphia, though, she planned to honor her conservative principles and write in some other Republican. But everything changed when the former president repeatedly refused to say he believed it was critical that the United States stand with Ukraine. Trump said he wanted to end the war, and suggested he could negotiate a peace between Russia and Ukraine.
“Conservatives do not negotiate with communist dictators who invade other countries,” London said in a post-debate text. “It will take Trump losing decisively to reform the GOP, and I will be back when that happens.”
London is one of more the 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 battleground states or are part of critical voting blocs.
Her decision to back Vice President Kamala Harris was the most significant shift in the reaction we received from this group of voters during the debate and in its immediate aftermath. None of our voters who had settled on a candidate before Tuesday’s onstage meeting were swayed to change their minds, although several Trump supporters shared concerns about his performance.
“She was ready,” said Chris Mudd, a Trump loyalist from Cedar Falls, Iowa. But he added: “Trump can make some positive changes. Kamala is all hat and no cattle.”
Lisa Reissman, a Harris supporter in Wisconsin, had a very different take.
“Harris was remarkable,” Reissman said. “Trump came off as irrational and desperate.”
Enthusiasm can matter in close races, and the conversation among Democrats is very different now that Harris has replaced President Joe Biden as the nominee. Even Democrats who had doubts about Biden but would have voted for him anyway use much more energetic language in discussing their support of Harris, including in their debate assessments.
“She showed us tonight that she is a president,” said Davette Baker, an African American Democratic activist in Milwaukee.
Larry Malinconico, a geology professor at Lafayette College in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, fits in this group.
“While I have always been of the mindset to do anything to keep Trump from office, I also am now much more confident that VP Harris is a great presidential candidate.”
Voters wanted to hear more policy specifics from Harris
Several voters who are undecided or leaning toward Harris or Trump, but open to changing their candidate, gave Harris more positive reviews for her debate performance. Several though, significantly, said she was not specific enough in explaining her policy proposals.
“Kamala Harris says she wants to lift up the middle class, but how?” said Linda Rooney, a Haley primary voter who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs. She also voiced concern about Harris shifting her positions on fracking and other issues.
“This is 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 prefer not to vote for Trump, but is not a fan of Biden-Harris economic policies.
“He’s so disappointing,” she said of Trump’s answer about his conduct on January 6, 2021. “Kamala is right to call him out about this.”
Twice Rooney emailed us to say that Trump was “off the rails” during debate discussions about immigration.
“I still can’t vote for her,” Rooney said of Harris. “But I don’t want to vote for Trump. … I feel so lonely in the middle.”
Rooney is from Media, in Delaware County. So is Cynthia Sabatini, a Reagan Republican and “never Trump” voter who plans to write in a conservative or vote third party unless Harris wins her over. The vice president did not do so Tuesday night.
“She is a good debater,” Sabatini said. “But in my opinion, she needs to answer questions on point.” Specifically, Sabatini said Harris failed out of the gate when asked whether she believed Americans are better off than they were four years ago and again on questions about the border.
“I’m undecided,” was her post-debate assessment.
Antonio Munoz, too, said Harris could have scored a bigger debate win had she 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 Harris but not ready to commit. He remains there after.
“Kamala was very poised,” Munoz said of the vice president. “Trump was Trump. Killing babies after they are born. Immigrants eating cats and dogs. How do you defend untruthful comments like that?”
But Munoz said he needs to hear more before Harris is guaranteed his vote in battleground Nevada.
“Not enough substance on how to continue moving forward,” Munoz said of her debate performance.
Looking for optimism but also authenticity
Zoila Sanchez, on the other hand, is firmly in camp Harris, even though she describes herself as a Reagan Republican.
“Her focus on real issues and pragmatic solutions was refreshing,” said Sanchez, a Las Vegas real estate agent. “Donald Trump appeared erratic and out of control. … We need leaders who are grounded in reality.”
Allen Naparalla, too, would like more specifics from Harris. But he is now ready to commit, after telling us in July, when Biden stepped aside, that he didn’t see Harris as up to the job.
“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 be happy about and look forward to. Enough negativity.”
Other Harris voters delighted in her success distracting and rattling Trump.
“A master class,” said Marvin Boyer, a civil rights activist in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, a crucial swing county. “She was calm, focused and collected. He was defensive, angry and out of control.”
Several Trump supporters, too, said Harris had succeeded in knocking Trump off his game.
“Kamala successfully avoided the questions and triggered Donald,” said Natalya Orlando, a Trump voter in New Hampshire. “The buildup to the debate was exciting but the debate itself was OK. Nothing new.”
Likewise, Priscilla Forsyth, an attorney in Sioux City, Iowa, said, “Trump wasn’t at his best and fell for the bait a little too often. But she seemed so fake, especially when she tried to talk about uniting the country. I will never believe she can or would represent my interests.”
That was a common theme among Trump loyalists: that Harris isn’t authentic.
“Kamala Harris’ incessant posing and disingenuous theatrics while Trump was speaking came across as immature, rehearsed and off-putting,” said Rachel Kulak, a Christian conservative who lives in the Richmond, Virginia, suburbs.
“His defensive reactions were not helpful,” Iowa entrepreneur Jaclyn Taylor said of Trump. “Kamala didn’t feel genuine much of the evening.”
Billy Pierce, a Trump backer from South Carolina, pointed to Harris’ time in the administration. “I just can’t believe Kamala is talking about change when she has been in office for three and a half years.”
Debbie Katsanos, a Trump supporter in New Hampshire, said, “The status quo has got to change. This was once a great country and now it is not.”
Betsy Sarcone, who backed Haley in the Iowa caucuses but plans to vote for Trump in November, said of Harris: “Her memorized and regurgitated lines lack depth.”
Several voters who remain unhappy with their choice even after the switch atop the Democratic ticket saw nothing Tuesday night to change their disappointment.
“I want better than this,” said Stanley Tremblay, a New Hampshire independent. “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.
“It’s exhausting,” she texted during the debate. “It just makes me feel so sad. This is the best our country can do?”
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