How Swing Voters Reacted to the Trump-Harris Debate

Before last nights debate, I got a text from a friend who summed up Kamala Harriss predicament: She has to appear feminine but not dainty. She has to be firm but not nasty. She has to call out Donald Trumps lies but not be naggy. She has to dress presidentially but not be blah.

Evidently, women candidates face challenges that men dontvoters question their toughness and are often ambivalent about how they should discuss identity. But at the debate, Harris showed that these hurdles arent insurmountable.

I think she was the clear winner. She was more presidential, Faith, a Pennsylvania swing voter (one who supported Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020), said after the debate.

Peter Wehner: Kamala Harris broke Donald Trump

I conduct focus groups with voters every week, and Ive heard one theme come up again and again: They often worry about Harriss ability to stand up to dictators such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Some countries do not respect women, Nicole, a swing voter from Arizona, said during a group in July. And so, to have a female running the United StatesIm all for females, just not as a president. Sorry, ladies.

Voters dont have this concern about Trump, a physically large man who insults his enemies in the most hostile terms possible.

Susan, a two-time Trump voter from Florida, described Trumps style this way last month: Hes just a big bully. The biggest bully on the playground. And if you dont do it his way, youre going to pay for it.

Last night, Trump was, in a certain sense, a stand-in for strongmen like Putin and Xi, and the voters I spoke with right after the debate said that Harris held her own. They appreciated her ability to bait Trump, counter his lies, and look calm while doing it. Her decision to point out how easily foreign despots use flattery to influence Trump also did her a lot of good.

I was actually pleasantly surprised at Harris, said Jennifer, a swing voter from Georgia. She addressed most of the issues pretty well, and she gave Donald Trump what other candidates couldnt. She was a little bit sarcastic, talking back with him, which I appreciated.

Jay, a swing voter from Arizona, said of the debate: Her objective of getting under his skin to unveil whats really behind the curtainI think she did a really good job.

Trumps team has done itself few favors with women during this campaign. Comments by the GOPs vice-presidential candidate, J. D. Vance, about childless cat ladies, giving more votes to people with children, and the role of postmenopausal females arent just off-putting; they accentuate the tickets core vulnerabilities on abortion and womens rights.

I have a really hard time getting past the cat ladies and how, if youre childless, you dont have as much of a stake in the future of America, Faith, the Pennsylvania voter, said after the debate. He is too conservative for my liking. He is too fundamentalist for my liking.

Helen Lewis: J. D. Vances very weird views about women

It turns out that this kind of outright misogyny concerns people. And it isnt just women who feel this way.

Chris, a swing voter from Minnesota, said last month that Vances cat lady comment implied that theres only one way to be a family: a mom and dad, married, and two kids.

To me, thats my dream, and Im super happy and loving it, he went on, but its not everyones dream, and I want to be open and respectful to that.

Jay, the Arizonan, said of Vance: From what Ive seen and heard, hes just an extension of Trump. Hes not bringing anything interesting to the table.

On the debate stage, Trump tried and failed to bait Harris on identity issues. Instead of taking offense when he said that she isnt Black, she echoed her line that its just the same old tired playbook. This is reflective of Harriss broader approach to gender and other identity issues.

In 2016, Hillary Clintons campaign trumpeted her status as the first female major candidate. Im with her was her campaign slogan. She consciously invoked gender throughout the campaign.

In contrast, Harriss slogan,For the people, puts votersnot the candidates identityat the center of things. And when pressed on the debate stage, instead of raising the salience of race and gender, she said, We dont want this kind of approach that is just constantly trying to divide us.

Voters seem to appreciate this attitude. After all, they are aware that Harris would be the first woman president. What they want to know is what she stands for.

Carol, a Pennsylvania swing voter, put it this way in July: Im fine that shes Black. I’m fine that shes a woman. But is she the best person for this job?

The nine-person focus group my team spoke with this morning weighed in on Carols question. We asked these voters how they would describe Harriss performance. The most common response: presidential.