Poll: One-Third of Democrats Unsure Who Won the Houston Debate

One-third of Democrats cannot determine who won the third Democrat presidential primary debate that took place in Houston, Texas, last week, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll released Monday.

The poll surveyed 371 Democrat registered voters September 13–14, days following the third Democrat presidential debate. It asked, “Which candidate did best in the third Democratic primary debate?”

Most respondents – 33 percent – said that they were “unsure” of who had the best debate performance. One-fifth of respondents – 20 percent – said that Joe Biden (D) did the best, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) with 12 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with nine percent, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) with seven percent, and Beto O’Rourke (D) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) tied with five percent. Three percent said Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) did the best, and two percent chose Andrew Yang (D) and Julián Castro (D). Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – who tried to position herself as a moderate – came in last with just one percent choosing her as having the best debate performance. The margin of error is +/- five percent.

The poll suggested that Biden’s awkward moments – such as Castro questioning Biden’s memory, Biden referring to himself as a “congressman,” and the former vice president briefly losing control of his teeth – did not have a significant negative impact among Democrat primary voters. A Morning Consult poll released following the debate also suggested the same, showing Biden maintaining a commanding lead with 32 percent support.