Split Decision on Who Won the Debate

Going into last night’s debate, there was a lot of anticipation and anxiety, since Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are basically tied in the polls. Several sources have said that debates don’t decide elections, only ever moving the needle about three points. And even that usually dissipates by election day. However, in so close a race, solid debate performances in all three debates might make a difference.

Immediately after the debate ended, Breitbart said their poll showed that Hillary may have “won” on performance, but does it really matter?

Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton edged her GOP rival Donald Trump in Monday’s presidential held at Hofstra University before a television audience estimated at 100 million viewers, according to a Breitbart/Gravis “flash poll” conducted minutes after the debate ended.

. . . respondents said Clinton performed better at the debate; 48 percent said Clinton did a better job, compared to 43 percent, who said Trump did the better job. “However, 95 percent of the people we contacted told us they were not going to change their vote based on the debate,” Caddell said. [Emphasis added]

Two percent of voters, previously undecided, switched to Trump after the debate. No undecideds went to Clinton. One percent switched from Trump to Clinton, and one percent switched from Clinton to Trump.

“Trump won on the most critical factor, on whether Clinton or Trump was more ‘plausible’ as president, 46 percent to her 42 percent,” he said. “That for him is really what this debate was really about”. . .Participants said they thought Clinton had a better grasp of the issues, by 48 percent to his 40 percent.

. . . ‘Who showed that they care about people like you?’ Trump won that 49 percent to 44 percent for her,” he said. In other questions, 49 percent said Trump was more honest and 42 percent said Clinton was more honest. Forty-eight percent of respondents said in the debate Trump showed he would be a strong leader, compared with 44 percent for Clinton. “With regards to expectations, 26 percent said Trump did better than they expected,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fox News say the pundits are wrong, and that the public thinks Trump “won” the debate.

The Drudge Report poll had 80 percent of respondents giving the victory to Trump, and a Time.com poll had the Republican nominee leading Clinton by 4 percentage points – 52 percent to 48 percent – after more than 1,300,000 votes were cast. CNBC and Breitbart polls also had Trump winning the event, at New York’s Hofstra University.

A Fox News online poll had Trump winning with 50 percent of respondents, Clinton at 35 percent and the other 15 percent declaring no one won.

Experts say the online polls are a good gauge of enthusiasm, which could mean Trump’s performance was enough to energize those who already backed him.

Trump’s best moment, according to Stuart Tarlow, of American Thinker, came when he distinguished himself from Clinton based on their disparate backgrounds. Trump characterized his opponent as a “typical politician,” who knows how to make statements and promises that sound good, but who never actually gets things done, Tarlow wrote.

The Daily Caller quotes FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver as predicting that Hillary will gain from the debate.

Statistician Nate Silver expects Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to rise in the polls after the first presidential debate, according to an op-ed published Tuesday.

“Democrats woke up on Monday to a spate of bad polls for Hillary Clinton, which brought Donald Trump to perhaps his closest position yet in the Electoral College,” Silver said.

“They had reason to go to bed feeling a lot better. Clinton bested Trump in the first presidential debate according to a variety of metrics, and the odds are that she’ll gain in head-to-head polls over Trump in the coming days.”

Time Magazine is inviting you to vote about the debate.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for their first presidential debate Monday, and we want to know who you think won.

Take a moment to click the link below next to the candidate who you thought did the best at the debate at Hofstra University in New York.

So far, the Time online poll shows Trump the winner, 55 to 45 percent.

clinton-trump-debate-poll-time-magazine

Fortune Magazine also has an online poll for you.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off Monday night in the first of three debates they will hold before Election Day. Now that one of the most anticipated, and likely one of the most widely watched, debates in modern American political history is over, we want to know what you think.

Take our poll below and let us know who you think won, who performed better on the economy and national security, and whether the debate changed your mind.

So far, the Fortune online poll shows Trump the winner, 52 to 48 percent.

trump-clinton-debate-fortune-magazine

Both the Time and Fortune polls are still ongoing so the results could change over time.


Goethe Behr

Goethe Behr is a Contributing Editor and Moderator at Election Central. He started out posting during the 2008 election, became more active during 2012, and very active in 2016. He has been a political junkie since the 1950s and enjoys adding a historical perspective.

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