Post-debate CNN poll: Harris seen as winner in a contest that matched expectations
About 6 in 10 (59%) said Harris won, while 38% said Vice President Mike Pence had the better night.
View 2020 presidential election polling
Those results roughly matched voters’ expectations heading into the debate. In interviews conducted before the debate, 61% of those same voters said they expected Harris to win, 36% thought Pence would.
Harris did improve her favorability rating among those who watched, according to the poll, while the debate was a wash for Pence. In pre-debate interviews, 56% said they had a positive view of Harris, that rose to 63% after the debate. For Pence, his favorability stood at 41% in both pre- and post-debate interviews.
Both vice presidential candidates are broadly seen as qualified to be president: 65% said Pence is qualified to serve as commander in chief should that become necessary, 63% said the same of Harris.
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The CNN post-debate poll was conducted by SSRS by telephone and includes interviews with 609 registered voters who watched the October 7 vice presidential debate. Results among debate-watchers have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points. Respondents were originally interviewed September 30 to October 4 either by telephone or online, and indicated they planned to watch the debate and would be willing to be re-interviewed when it was over. Respondents initially reached online are members of the SSRS Opinion Panel, a nationally representative probability-based panel.
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