Anyone who felt Bernie Sanders did particularly well in his first Presidential Debate Tuesday night are probably not alone. Sanders’ performance was strong. Many voters who may have been on-the-fence or simply in denial as to Sanders’ electability before the debates may well have been swayed after listening to his message of income and wealth inequality, living wages, racial injustice, and getting big money out of politics.
Perhaps ironically, one post-debate moment that has stood out to me was on Fox News’ The Kelly Files, when she checked in with Pollster and CEO Frank Luntz of Luntz Global and a group of Democratic voters from the state of Florida. Of the 28 democrats present, half were supporters of Hillary Clinton going into the debates, and only half of those remained Clinton supporters afterwards.
When asked by Luntz who had won the debate, the response was an unequivocal cry in support for Bernie Sanders as the winner. When Luntz asked for an overall impression of Sanders’ character, he was described as:
“strong, for the people, straight-forward, sincere, direct, and smart.”
Luntz followed by stating:
“But he is a socialist… he’s proud of being a socialist. Do you really think this guy can win?”
The responses varied. One participant who understood the appeal Sanders has with many Americans still felt that his being a populist could hurt his chances of winning. Another felt that Sanders’ proposals may be the solution to the “unrest in the country regarding some of the problems we have been facing.”
The focus group also found Sanders’ defense of Hillary Clinton admirable and expressed respect for his desire to move past the email scandal to focus on the issues facing the American People. They also expressed appreciation for how the candidates in general, refrained from the kind of mudslinging seen in the last two GOP debates. Of the five candidates, Webb and Chafee were viewed most unfavorably by the focus group.
