It's hard to imagine anything in future debates that would change that equation thus the tied race returns still tied to the seven battleground states that we are all gradually memorizing. But some analysts think Trump may agree to another to slow any momentum Harris is building.
Harris was strongest on abortion, an issue that has risen to near the top of voter concerns in recent elections and is crucial for the Dems who need women voters to remain enthusiastic.
Trump unapologetically appealed to his base, even if it meant raising sensational allegations about immigrants eating dogs in Ohio or saying Harris and the Dems treated President Biden "like a dog."
Questions to be resolved: VP Harris was unliked by most Americans before she became the nominee. Will voters revert to that view or is she making herself more likable to them.
Trump knows his base like he knows Trump Tower but will there be Trump fatigue in the final stretch?
The debate highlighted those questions but did not approach resolving them.
OTHER VOICES
We asked a variety of local political enthusiasts for their reflections on the debate. Attorney, former legislator and political consultant Greg Payne has been watching these face-offs for years and often analyzing them here. The independent who leans Trump is back and had this reaction:
There are two different issues to analyze. Who won the debate? And what's the impact on the election? Harris won the debate on points but it wasn't a knockout or even a technical knockout. In terms of the overall election? I don't think it will make any difference whatsoever. It really comes down to this: if you think America is heading in the right direction and like what you're seeing, you're going to vote for Harris. If you don't think the country is headed in the right direction and don't like what you're seeing, you're going to vote for Trump.
SENIOR DEM ALLIGATOR:
Overall, Trump performed as expected and was on message with his base. I think he tried to appeal to middle-of-the road voters at the start but that quickly faded. I think a lot of people tuned in to see if Harris was as soft or weak as Trump supporters were predicting and she wasn’t. She also had no trouble with the questions (as Trump had tried to say she would). So, it was Harris’ night because she showed she could stand toe to toe with him and not get pushed over.
I think that gets Harris some votes from middle of the road women voters who might be on the fence. Look for fireworks at the next debate because you know Trump understands now the difficulty of the task ahead of him. She’s not a pushover, she is gaining in status and her profile with voters. Every time she passes one of these tests she will appear more legit as a potential president.
DEM SENATOR MOE MAESTAS
Being on the same stage as the former President can only bolster Harris' credibility (similar to a challenger on stage with an incumbent). A key moment was when Trump doubled down on the ‘big lie.' January 6th still lingers in the American psyche, particularly to those who realize the importance of ‘protecting democracy.'
GOP SEN. GREG BACA
President Trump delivered a vision to reform our country to its former greatness, against vice President Harris who was unable to explain the failures of the past 3.5 years and instead denied, deflected, and distracted. Unfortunately for New Mexico, no presidential administration has been able to undo the damage that 100 years of Democrat rule in New Mexico has done.
DEM ANALYST JAKE McCOOK
I'm old enough to remember when New Mexico Republicans had elected officials and candidates who were statesmen. I feel sorry they have remade themselves in their image of such an awful person who neither cares about nor understands anything about people here. You'll call this partisan but I was honestly blown away by Vice President Harris's performance. She had a lot to prove and she proved she's ready to be president. Confident but not defensive, detailed on policy without being too wonky, and most importantly offered a clear choice for turning the page and charting a new way forward. It all comes down to women Joe. I trust women and I trust Kamala Harris now more than ever.
NMGOP
President Trump spoke directly to New Mexicans who know their neighborhoods have become unsafe and to our border communities who feel abandoned, those whom Harris seemed to laugh about. Harris could not explain why her administration opened the border to this crisis on their day one. “Trump made it clear that he would protect New Mexico's oil and gas industry, which accounts for thousands of jobs and almost 50% of our state's budget. Harris had a more confusing stance. She twisted herself into a pretzel trying to explain how she supports fracking despite previously saying she wants to ban it, while also saying that her values have not changed.
NM DEMS
While Kamala Harris came prepared to talk about her accomplishments and vision for the country, Donald Trump focused on himself and a confused, revisionist history about his criminal record and failed presidency, proving his utter inability to lead. “Trump displayed what we already know - he's emotionally and mentally unfit to be president. Between absurd egotistical claims, racist language, and his unnecessarily grouchy demeanor, Trump lied through his teeth about his record of eliminating abortion rights, cutting taxes large corporations, and almost every other topic that came up.
GOP CONSULTANT BOB CORNELIUS
Kamala Harris should’ve been on our Olympic track team because she’s running away from her record as the most liberal US Senator in record time. She has flip flopped on many of the major issues. She looks viable only because Joe Biden was so unviable.
DEM CONSULTANT DAVID ALCON
As expected, the debate over abortion took center stage. Harris made sure that women voters and liberal men cannot put any trust in Trump's motives regarding abortion; channeling her prosecutor skills by detailing rape and incest to bring home her stance on abortion. Trump only managed to talk all over on the issue, double-speaking and never really arriving at a position. Trump continued to expound his right-wing agenda on immigration. His charge that immigrants were running around eating pets proved one of the more surreal statements of the night.
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM
JOURNAL POLL UPDATE
We had some confusion about the upcoming ABQ Journal poll. There will be no polling by the Journal of the three congressional races until a second poll in late October.
The first poll with results for president is expected to be published September 15--not the 22nd. The US Senate race results traditionally come the next day. In subsequent days voter answers to various issues and the US House races are expected.
We assumed that the hotly contested southern congressional race with Dem US Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Republican Yvette Herrell and the other two congressional contests would be included in the first survey but pollster Brian Sanderoff says that is not the case.
The Emerson College poll from Aug 22-24 showing Vasquez with a nearly 10 point lead is the only public poll circulating on that contest and the state awaits another to see if the race is tighter than that unexpected margin. (It probably is.)
