Democratic Strategist Predicts Debate Won’t Help Harris

On Friday, Democratic strategist Tim Hogan predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris would not see a significant boost in the polls following her debate with former President Donald Trump.

While some prominent Democrats argued that Harris had significantly hurt Trump’s reelection prospects during their Tuesday debate on ABC News, Hogan, speaking on a 2WAY livestream, stated that he does not anticipate the debate will change the race dynamics, with key battleground states likely remaining unsettled.

“I think from some of the national polls that we have seen come out, there looks to be a little bit of some movement, but I don’t think that we’re going to see a big bump. It’s just not going to happen,” Hogan said. “It’s such a small group. Seven tied races or within the margin of error. I think it’s still within the margin. I don’t think anyone’s outside the margin.”

'Not Going To Happen': Dem Strategist Predicts Harris Won't Receive 'Big Bump' From Debate pic.twitter.com/L06LJOLfK5

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 13, 2024

Harris currently leads Trump by 0.2% in the top seven battleground states, according to the RealClearPolling average. Her national lead increased from 4% to 5% after the debate, according to a Thursday Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Trump announced on Thursday that he does not plan to participate in a second debate with Harris despite her campaign pushing for an October rematch. Although Trump had challenged Harris to three debates in August, she only agreed to the ABC News debate.

CNN’s Van Jones cautioned on Friday that Trump would likely be a “much more formidable” opponent in a second debate against Harris.

“If she debates him again, he will be a different guy. He usually screws up the first debate and gets better in the second debate,” Jones said. “I think he underestimated her. I think he had a bunch of nut jobs around him on his plane, getting him all psyched up about eating dogs and all kind of crazy stuff. And so when he got there, he was not in the right mindset and she whooped him.”

On Friday, CNN anchor Kate Bolduan criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s economic messaging as “unsatisfying,” noting that Trump significantly outpaces the vice president on this key issue. A CNN flash poll revealed that 55% of viewers thought Trump would be better for the economy as president, compared to 35% for Harris.