Reuters Posts Report Following Debate On Focus Group

So, Kamala Harris may have gotten praise from many in the media for her debate performance, but it looks like some undecided voters still weren’t sold.

Reuters spoke to a group of 10 undecided voters after the debate, and the results weren’t exactly what Harris might have hoped for. Out of the 10, six said they were either leaning toward or now planning to vote for Trump, while only three were swayed in Harris’s favor. One person remained undecided.

That’s not the kind of response you want when you're in a tight race with a former president like Trump, especially when the election is expected to come down to just a handful of swing voters in battleground states.

What’s really interesting here is that Harris was seen as vague on her economic policies by five of the 10 voters, even though the economy is a huge concern for Americans right now. With inflation still causing pain at the grocery store and gas pump, people want to hear concrete solutions—not just attacks on the other candidate.

Yep. I said this last night.

Only theatre kids thought Harris won. https://t.co/EbnolXMG5z

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) September 11, 2024

One voter, Mark Kadish, summed up the problem by saying, “I still don’t know what she is for.” And that’s the challenge for Harris. While she did mention some specific plans—like offering tax benefits to families and small businesses—many felt she spent too much time focusing on Trump’s shortcomings rather than explaining her own vision for the country.

Interestingly, even some of the voters who said they didn’t personally like Trump are still leaning toward him because they trust him more on the economy. One voter, Robert Wheeler, who was leaning toward Harris before the debate, said he switched to Trump afterward because Harris didn’t offer enough clarity on what her policies would look like.

It’s clear that for Harris, the message on the economy isn’t quite hitting home for undecided voters. Trump, meanwhile, continues to bank on his reputation as someone who can handle economic issues, even if his personality turns some voters off.

As we get closer to November, these undecided voters in key swing states will play a huge role in determining the outcome of the election. Harris will need to find a way to connect with them on the issues they care about most—particularly the economy—if she wants to close the gap.