Georgia focus group: Harris won debate
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Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, Pa. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris impressed a small group of swing voters in Georgia who watched the debate on Tuesday, according to our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups.
Why it matters: The battleground state is expected to be highly competitive in November, with Harris' campaign eyeing the Sun Belt and Blue Wall as paths to victory against former President Trump.
- President Biden in 2020 became the first Democratic president to win the Peach State in 28 years. He won by fewer than 12,000 votes.
- Current polling shows Trump up in Georgia by less than 1 percentage point.
Driving the news: Seven of the nine Georgia swing voters who said they watched at least some of the debate thought Harris won. These voters backed President Biden in 2020 after voting for Trump in 2016.
- But overall, seven of the 11 swing voters already planned to vote for Harris before the debate, which didn't change afterward. Four of them still plan to vote for Trump.
- Two of the Georgia swing voters said they did not watch the debate.
- Eight of the voters are independents and three are Democrats.
Zoom in: Courtney B., 35, a swing voter from Atlanta who thought Harris won the debate, said that the VP "was clear, concise, she sounded like a president."
- "I feel like she had facts of what she's done, why she has been in office, things of that nature," KaDasha S., 31, of Atlanta, said.
- Respondent Spencer F., 52, of Fairburn, said that Harris "goaded" Trump "into a lot of crazy answers ... and he fell for every last one of them."
The other side: Two Georgia swing voters who watched most or all of the debate said that Trump won. "I just thought he presented himself strong," said Sheila Y., 51, of McDonough.
- "He got to talking about the issues, he was talking about things that were going on and he was pointing out relevant facts," said Bryan C., 51, of Atlanta.
What they're saying: "Harris is the preferred choice among most of these swing voters mainly because she's not Trump," said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the focus groups.
- "She's incrementally winning some hearts, but has yet to truly change minds."
Reality check: While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses can help gauge voter sentiment on current events.
Between the lines: While the voters largely said the debate did not change their preferences for president, some said they thought the debate could help Harris' appeal with other voters.
- Respondent BD, 39, who is leaning toward voting for Trump, said that the debate moved him closer to Harris.
- When asked what Harris needs to do to win him over, he said, "She needs more, well-defined policy."
- And for Trump to keep him, he said: "[Trump] needs to be able to debate. I mean, he needs to do what Harris did yesterday and act presidential and come in with facts that aren't lies and be a little bit more mature."
Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: Trump's devil-in-Georgia problem
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Biden was the first Democratic president to win the Peach State in 28 years (not 20 years).
