Henderson focus group reacts to debate

Henderson voters give U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) the win:

Democracy Corps conducted dial testing of the debate with 50 undecided voters in Henderson, Nevada, followed by focus group discussions with voters who shifted toward one of the candidates after seeing the debate. These voters were evenly split in terms of partisan identification – 26 percent Democrat, 48 percent Independent, and 26 percent Republican – but 50 percent voted for Bush in 2004, compared to 34 percent who voted for Kerry.

Like the last debate, these voters felt that Obama was the winner of the debate (38 to 30 percent), but this time the debate also shifted their electoral preferences. After viewing the debate, 42 percent of these voters said they would support Obama if the election were held today, while just 26 percent would support McCain.

Obama’s personal favorability rose significantly from 54 to 80 percent after the debate. While McCain’s personal favorability saw a slight 8-point uptick after the debate (from 48 percent to 56 percent), this was marginal compared to Obama’s gains. In both debates now, Obama’s performance has had a profound impact on the attitudes of viewers toward him and his candidacy.