When millions of people tuned in to watch the US presidential debate on September 10, a lot was hanging in the balance. Since becoming the Democratic nominee in August, Kamala Harris has ridden a wave of excitement and energy that moved the Democrats from four to five points behind Donald Trump in the polls, to ahead in nearly every swing state.
But, despite a rousing Democratic convention, this wave has not translated into an overall bounce in support. And a new set of polls released just days before the debate showed that the race had tightened and Harris’ momentum was waning.
So a lot was riding on her debate performance. Harris needed to introduce herself to the 28% of Americans that claimed they still didn’t really know her that well. Research has shown that lesser-known candidates have more to gain from a presidential debate.
