With all the back-and-forth between the two campaigns about presidential debates, we conducted an online poll of 1,386 voters from August 28 to August 30, a period that included the disastrous Harris-Walz recorded interview on CNN. The margin of error was 2.8%.
We asked: How important is it for Harris and Trump to debate three times, as has been the norm for decades?
A whopping 75% said it was either very important (48%) or somewhat important (27%). The responses were overwhelmingly in favor across different demographics: Men (77%), Women (72%), White voters (74%), and Black and Hispanic (78%). The results were similar in terms of party affiliation: Democrats (76%) and Republicans (79%). Curiously, Independents (69%) seemed relatively less favorable to three debates. The responses were decidedly in favor across income levels (with a minimum of 72%), with voters in the middle class (making $30,000 - $50,000 annually) strongly desiring three debates (79%).
It is the clearest sign yet that the Harris campaign handlers, hoping to run out the clock and install Harris-Walz in the White House without adequate scrutiny, were pathetically out of touch with voters across the spectrum.
Voters are legitimately concerned about the events of the past four years and particularly worried about what has happened during the last two months.
Election integrity: For the past four years, voters of all stripes and colors have been worried about election integrity. Recent revelations from Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he regrets yielding to government pressure in demoting Covid-related posts on Facebook and the Hunter Biden laptop story have confirmed Americans' worst fears about suppression of speech on social media platforms to engineer partisan victories.
This week's Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's shocking ruling that mail-in ballots neither need to be dated nor signed for them to count has sent a chilling wave through voters' spines. In 2016, the Keystone State required voters to request absentee ballots under specific circumstances, and only a tiny fraction- about 161,000- voted absentee. In 2019, Pennsylvania enacted a significant change to its voting laws with the passage of Act 77, which allowed no-excuse mail-in ballots across the entire state. During 2020, more than 2.6 million voters mailed in their ballots, a 1600% increase. With so many people voting by mail, wouldn't you want to validate that ballots are signed and dated, the same checks that would apply if one went into a polling booth? According to the wisdom of the Commonwealth Court, the answer is a sound no.
Democracy: Voters are also concerned that a few elites make decisions that ignore their democratic voices. During the Democratic primaries, President Biden won 98% of his delegates over four months, campaigning across all states and territories. Yet, when it was convenient, Party bosses replaced him with Vice President Harris, transferred his campaign war chest to her, and even ‘nominated’ her at the DNC in Chicago. What about the 14 million voters who cast their ballots for President Biden?
Lawfare: After 94 lawfare cases against Trump, many of which are in trouble despite Supreme Court rulings, Jack Smith wants to continue prosecuting one of two people who could become the 47th president, with just 68 days left for the elections.
Economy: The economy continues to place significant strains on America. While year-over-year CPI inflation is down, prices have been at least 20% higher since Biden was sworn in, with some prices are higher still.
Advances in AI are destroying tech and service sector jobs, although no one is talking about them.
Immigration and crime: Americans are genuinely concerned about unprecedented illegal immigration and want to know how the next president will tackle this issue. A pathway to citizenship and comprehensive immigration reform are easy buzzwords but extremely difficult to pull off in Congress. Long before something can pass in Congress, there's the existential question of what to do with those already here and those still wanting to cross.
Speaking to Bill Maher, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared sympathetic to a California bill that recently passed both legislative chambers in Sacramento. The bill would provide $150,000 in state assistance to illegal immigrants to buy housing.
Forever wars: Americans want to know why there were no new wars under Trump and why, under Biden-Harris, the world is on fire. More than $200 billion in taxpayer dollars are draining the Treasury. Yet, the White House has nothing to show but a million dead and wounded worldwide, with peace eluding us everywhere that Tony Blinken and Jake Sullivan have touched.
In our August poll, Biden received good grades from fewer than 30% of Americans on all issues, averaging a D, and thus, Harris, ipso facto, also earned a D due to her close association with Biden. Americans want to hear from her about how the next four years will be different.
Americans also want to know how Trump will behave if he returns to office. Will he unleash revenge lawfare on Biden and his cohorts? Will Trump continue to anger-tweet for every little comment on Fox and Friends? How does he propose to stop the war in Ukraine? What would he do differently in the Middle East? What are Trump's plans for tariffs on China?
Since 1984, American voters have been served by three presidential debates—generally two on domestic policy and one on foreign policy. The debates were held in various settings, including the first town hall format where the audience asked questions (Bush 41 v. Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992). There has also been one vice-presidential debate.
Presidential debates are high-stakes and tension-filled for both sides, and such an environment is to be expected for the most challenging job in the Free World. Debates focus on candidates' credibility, contradictory positions, and ability to calmly answer tough questions from moderators. Everything said becomes a matter of public record. These elements, combined, create a highly charged environment in which candidates navigate a complex interplay of strategy, emotion, and public perception.
2024 is a strange election season. The June debate, which knocked Joe Biden from the ballot and ended his political career, served its purpose for both parties and the public. With Kamala Harris being shielded by handlers who do not want her exposed to unscripted questioning by the media, and the media itself not aggressively pursuing press conferences, nearly 75% of voters are legitimately concerned that they may cast their ballots without knowing enough about their candidates. (Early voting in some states starts on September 6.)
Americans deserve to know more and hear directly from the presidential candidates. Not holding three debates with the actual election contenders would be the ultimate blow to democracy.
