Focus Groups Analysis Will Change How You Feel About the Trump-Harris Debate

Multiple top Harris campaign aides have told CNN: if the election were held next Tuesday, Trump would be in position to win
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — When it came to the most important issues of the 2024 Election – the economy, inflation and rising prices, or rising crime associated with illegal immigrants crossing a wide open border – the yellow line measuring how the nation's "Independent Voters" were responding moved immediately away from Kamala Harris and surged dramatically in Donald Trump’s favor, aligning almost identically with the red line of Republican participants.

And when Kamala Harris attacked Trump, the independent voters responded negatively, once again tracking closely with Republican voters on the panel.

"I was really, really surprised – because the intensity of the independent support was there for Donald Trump, and I didn't expect it. Independents are tracking very much with Republicans," said Lee Carter, pollster and president of Maslansky + Partners on Fox News's "The Faulkner Focus."

"They're looking for a couple of things:

• "They're looking for answers on immigration.
• "They're looking for answers on the economy.
• "They want to hear that things will get better for them, and
• "they also want change from what is happening right now," Carter said during Wednesday morning's appearance.

"One of the most important things they were looking for last night from Kamala Harris is, 'How are you going to make it different?'," Carter said.

Amid all the "vibes" and proclamations of joy, Kamala Harris' campaign isn't going quite as well as her handlers and the press would have you believe.

As pumped as Harris aides are about her debate performance earlier this week, they don’t think it changed any of that.

In the aftermath of the debate on Tuesday, the media promptly declared Kamala Harris the winner. Perhaps stylistically, she had an edge, but when it came to resonating with "undecided" and "independent" voters, multiple focus groups showed that Trump was the candidate who managed to succeed on that front.

Dials monitoring the reaction of a Fox News focus group during Tuesday's presidential debate showed "Independent Voters" overlapping and aligning with Republicans in support of former President Trump's immigration policies.

The focus group comprised seven Democrats, five independents and five Republicans, and was represented by blue, yellow and red lines, respectively.

When Trump spoke of the rising crime at the hands of illegal immigrants, the yellow line monitoring the independent reaction rose drastically in Trump's favor, overlapping with the red Republican line.
 
A New York Times interview of eight "Undecided Voters" after the debate found:
 

• 2 leaning toward Mr. Trump,
• 1 toward Ms. Harris, and
• the rest extremely confused.
  • CNN, BBC and Wall Street Journal interviews with uncommitted voters produced similarly mixed results.

These voters’ responses highlight Kamala Harris’s problems:
 
Harris is AWOL on the Economy

“There was no real meat and bones for her plan,” said a 61-year-old entrepreneur from Florida, who is now leaning toward Mr. Trump.

A Nevada resident said he also moved toward Mr. Trump after hearing Ms. Harris tell him “not to vote for Donald Trump – instead of (stating) why she’s the right candidate.”

Mr. Trump doesn’t necessarily have to provide a plan, and can talk about the economic progress made during his term as president. People lived life under his leadership, and can compare it with the Biden-Harris economy.

A 34-year-old black woman in Milwaukee explained to the New York Times why the debate nudged her toward the Republican:
 
While Harris spent the debate casting Donald Trump as a truly unpleasant individual:
 
Of the six Trump converts in the Reuters article:
 
And a new report from CNN is shedding light on where the race stands – and casting doubt on Harris' outward show of confidence. 
 

• Pennsylvania looks rough, though very possible, by their internal numbers before the debate.
• North Carolina, disappointing Democrats every election for the last 15 years, is feeling better to them this time around than Arizona, which Biden narrowly won four years ago.
• Nevada and Georgia both seem possible, though depending on the poll, can take a lot of squinting.
• Michigan and Wisconsin are looking like the best of the bunch for Harris, according to the campaign’s internal numbers.

That makes for a lot of potential paths to victory based on the current and projected internal data, Jen O’Malley Dillon – the Kamala Harris campaign chair who was hired by Joe Biden, and retained by Harris – told a leadership retreat for top aides in Wilmington, Deleware, last week.
 

A number of leading Democrats have even stepped out and said that Harris could be in danger of losing the excitement and good vibes they need to overpower what they expect to be high and devoted turnout for Trump.

Harris advisers are spending their days cutting campaign ads from the debate, and poring through data that they believe may show she got an important sliver of a bump.

An internal summary of the campaign’s “dial groups” measuring immediate reactions, which was described to CNN, says that Harris’ best rated moment was when she spoke about abortion – and Trump’s worst rated moment was when he cited a fake story about immigrants eating pets.

But a dozen leading Democrat operatives and officials told CNN they worry what will happen if the campaign reverts – as it has done this week after the debate – to the standard rhythm of bus tours and stump speeches and teases of an unconventional interview or two.
 

"I think the independents are tracking this way with Trump's responses – because it is obvious what's happening across the country in these cities," said one GOP voter from New Jersey after the debate. 

"Every single day we're seeing destruction… crime… every single day our safety is being compromised, and I think you can't hide from that.

"I think it's becoming more and more obvious – something needs to change."