In the immediate aftermath of Monday night’s presidential debate, Frank Luntz’s focus group of undecided voters handed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a victory, declaring her the “clear winner” of the first head-to-head matchup.
Luntz hosted a group of undecided voters from the swing state of Pennsylvania. Sixteen said that Clinton won, while the remaining five declared the GOP nominee the debate champ. However, the group was dispirited by the two candidates, saying they are not the same caliber as James Madison.
Many of the undecided watchers cited Trump as a factor for their shift to Clinton, pointing to his attacks on her and his inability to stay on message.
“He went off message,” said one member of the group. “Lately, he’s been very good with his speeches and his appearances where he has stayed on message. No personal attacks. Just sold himself and his plan instead of attacking, and tonight he went back to attacking.”
“Donald Trump was more interested in digging into her and just tearing her down,” another focus group member said. “I was really surprised. I was really hoping to see a different Donald Trump tonight.”
Some focus group members pointed to his comments on race and the inner cities as the main reason for the shift. One person argued that Trump was “completley offensive” with his talk on the issue.
“He was completely offensive. He lost me on the racial unity, and that’s where I draw the line,” one member told Luntz. Another told Luntz that he “made inner cities seem like you’re going to die as soon as you step outside,” adding that “that’s not true.”
During the course of the debate, Clinton made gains with the group on a multitude of topics, including law enforcement, calls for Trump to release his tax returns, as well as her attempts to bait Trump, which made a difference with the group. Meanwhile, Trump lost ground after questioning from NBC’s Lester Holt about his past stance on where President Obama was born.
In conclusion, among those who said the debate swayed their opinion and helped them solidify their decision, 10 said Clinton. Only two said Trump had helped them move the needle his way.
