Trump Takes Lead Over Harris In Major Swing State Post-Debate

Former President Donald Trump has pulled ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the key swing state of Michigan following their recent debate.

Harris had consistently led in Michigan since President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party designated her as his successor after his difficult June debate with Trump. However, a new survey from Insider Advantage shows that Trump now holds a slight lead, which is largely attributed to black voters.

According to the survey, Trump is leading Harris by 1 point, 49-48 percent, with a 5-point advantage among Independents, as reported by pollster Matt Towery. He also pointed out that there was an unexpected finding in the results.

“The poll also indicated a slightly higher level of support for Trump among African-Americans (around 20%), which might be a statistical anomaly or a reflection of the elevated African-American support seen in national surveys, such as the one conducted by The New York Times,” Towery explained.

The 20% figure is significant, as Trump’s campaign had set a goal of winning 25% to 30% of the black male vote. In the 2020 election, Trump only received 12% of the black vote.

Towery did caution, however, that this increase in black support for Trump might be specific to Michigan and may not dramatically influence the outcome in the state.

“Michigan’s African-American vote, though important, represents a smaller portion compared to states like Georgia, so even if the elevated numbers revert to previous levels, it likely wouldn’t shift the overall race,” he said. “I believe the African-American numbers are reasonably accurate for this point in the race, but this could be unique to Michigan in this election cycle.”

He further noted that the debate itself did not seem to have much impact on voters’ views.

“The race is still very close in Michigan and likely in other battleground states,” Towery commented, adding that “the debate didn’t change much, especially among independent voters, in this state.”

Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, and former Chair of the Republican National Committee, criticized the performance of ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, calling it “the worst I’ve seen.”

Speaking on Newsmax TV’s The Record, Fahrenkopf Jr. said the moderators “clearly gave more leniency to Harris” and “were harsher toward Trump.”

He expressed disappointment with how the moderators handled the debate. “Moderators are supposed to be facilitators, not active participants,” he said, explaining that debates are meant to be between candidates, not between the candidates and the moderators.

Fahrenkopf Jr. added, “In all the years I’ve worked on debates, this was the worst performance by moderators. They seemed biased in favor of Harris.”

While the mainstream media largely praised Harris for her debate performance, post-debate polling suggests that it didn’t significantly improve her standing, particularly in crucial swing states like Michigan.