Harris vs. Trump Debate: Voters Give Harris Slight Edge

A recent Fox News poll finds that voters give Vice President Kamala Harris a slightly higher grade than former President Donald Trump for their performances in the second presidential debate of the cycle.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump squared off in a heated second presidential debate, with voters giving Harris a slight edge in their overall performance.

According to the latest Fox News Poll released Thursday, voters assign Harris an average grade of C for her debate performance, while Trump receives a C-. However, the poll reveals a more nuanced picture when examining individual letter grades.

Harris vs. Trump Debate: Voters Give Harris Slight Edge

By a 12-point margin, voters are more likely to award Harris an A (30%) than Trump (18%). Conversely, Trump is more likely to receive a failing grade (36%) than Harris (24%), also by a 12-point difference.

When breaking down partisan preferences, the poll indicates that Democrats give Harris an average grade of B+, while Independents award her a C, and Republicans rate her a D.

Trump, on the other hand, receives a B average from Republicans, a D+ from Independents, and a resounding F from Democrats.

In comparison to the first presidential debate in June, Trump's overall performance remained steady, with Republicans giving him a B average. However, his standing with Independents (C-) and Democrats (D) has weakened.

Both Harris and Trump outperformed President Joe Biden's performance in the June debate, which prompted calls for him to step down as the nominee. At the time, voters gave Biden a D average, with 46% assigning him an F.

"Contrary to the commentary that praised the vice-president, voters weren't particularly impressed with either candidate," said Daron Shaw, the GOP half of the bipartisan team that conducted the Fox News survey. "But only hardcore GOP partisans thought the former president got the job done this time around."

The Fox News poll, conducted from September 13-16, 2024, surveyed 1,102 registered voters using a combination of landlines, cellphones, and online interviews. The margin of sampling error for the full registered voter sample and the subsample of 876 likely voters is ±3 percentage points.