Bert Baez was considering not voting for a president when his choices were President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump.
He remained undecided when Biden stepped out and Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
That was until Tuesday’s presidential debate.
“Trump just kind of seemed to be going on tangents and she seemed more composed and aware of what the issues were,” Baez, of Hartford, said.
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Quinnipiac University Wesley Renfro agreed that Harris had the better performance.
“Even looking at conservative media outlets’ coverage of the debate, there’s a pretty universal consensus that she won this debate,” Renfro said.
Rollin James Lee, of Plainville, is voting for Trump, but he also said his candidate lost the debate.
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“I think he was out to get Harris on a few items, and he forgot all about what he was there for,” Lee said.
Those sentiments didn’t stop Connecticut Republican Chairman Ben Proto from declaring Trump won the debate.
He said Harris failed to show why voters shouldn’t blame her for inflation, immigration and other problems they might have with the Biden Administration.
“That's a question that Vice President Harris couldn’t answer when asked; are we better of four years ago, when Donald Trump was president than I am today?” he said.
Connecticut Democratic Chairman Nancy DiNardo said Harris was strong, especially on issues like abortion, while also rattling Trump at times.
“He's not presidential material,” DiNardo said. “How is he going to do when he’s dealing with other leaders and they know how to push his buttons?”
Most voters said the debate did nothing to change their stance. In fact, they tended to praise their preferred candidate’s performance.
“I thought it was a great debate,” Andrew Harris, of West Hartford, said. “I thought it was fantastic to have Kamala Harris there presenting a real argument.”
Ravi Hanjan, of Avon, said he’s voting for Trump because he’s frustrated with the economy under Biden.
“I already made up my mind,” he said. “I'm going to go Republican because I don’t think Harris has the credentials.”
