Set-piece debates don’t tend to move many votes in elections. Fewer than one in ten of the electorate who tuned into the supposedly pivotal Nixon-Kennedy showdown in 1960 changed their mind after it. But what debates can do is fire up – or depress – a candidate’s base. In the aftermath of the Harris-Trump head to head last night, this feels the most likely consequence once again – no matter how many pundits are declaring it a decisive victory for the Kamala Harris campaign.
Harris’s first clever bit of politics was targeting Polish-Americans by alluding to the threat Russia posed to their homeland. Their votes in the contentious rust belt region of post-industrial America need to be won over. Meanwhile, going hard on access to abortion – a cornerstone of her platform – might rally the disgruntled left. Harris too was right to point out the endorsements she had received from several Republicans. This broad-tent performance will likely serve her well. Though she risks losing a tranche of angry, logged-on 18- to 34-year-olds over Israel.
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