Harris Flatlines In Post-Debate Polls Despite Claims Of Victory

A new poll released Sunday shows Vice President Kamala Harris did not significantly move the needle in her favor despite viewers saying she won the debate, according to ABC News/Ipsos.

Following Tuesday’s presidential debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump, a handful of pundits predicted a polling boost for Harris. However, while 58% of Americans say Harris won the debate, she only gained one point compared to pre-debate polls, now holding 51% support to Trump’s 47% among registered voters, ABC News/Ipsos data shows.

The poll, which was produced by Langer Research Associated with fieldwork by Ipsos, surveyed 3,276 adults online between Sept. 11 – 13 and had a margin of sampling error of 2%. In addition to registered voter support, the poll shows among all adults Harris holds 51% with Trump at 46% and among likely voters Harris holds 52% with Trump at 46%.

Among the new post-debate data, 37% of voters viewed Harris more favorably after the debate compared to 23% who found her less favorable. However, the increase for Harris came mainly from her base, with 69% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents stating they found the vice president more favorable after the debate, as 34% of Republicans and GOP-leaning Independents found Trump more favorable, according to ABC News/Ipsos.

Immediately after the debate, singer Taylor Swift broke her silence on a much anticipated endorsement and revealed she would be supporting Harris come this November. While the move sparked online celebration from Democrats, it showed little impact in the polls, with just 6% of voters saying Swift’s endorsement made them more likely to vote for Harris.

In contrast, 13% said it made them less likely to support the vice president and 81% said it makes no difference, data shows.

Polling on support for the former president appears to have dropped roughly four points compared to August’s data, with the post debate poll now showing 56% of Trump supporters backing him strongly. In contrast, 62% of Harris supporters now back her strongly, according to the ABC News/Ipsos poll.

Despite this backing from supporters, 42% of voters found Trump to be too conservative on issues, and 47% called Harris “too liberal,” which had been a point made by Trump on the debate stage.

With the economy and inflation still leading voters’ top concerns when it comes to voting this November, Trump leads Harris on the issue by 7 points in who Americans trust more to handle the job. While the two are evenly matched on crime and safety, Trump leads by 10 points over Harris on immigration, with the vice president leading by 9 points on health care and 14 points on abortion, data shows.