How Harris can wield debate win to beat Trump in November

At the start of Tuesday night’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris walked over to former President Donald Trump’s podium, hand extended, and said, “Let’s have a good debate.”
That handshake, which wouldn’t have happened without Harris initiating it, set the tone for the rest of the night. For the next hour and 40 minutes, he imploded while she egged him on. Her performance was great; Trump made it look fantastic.
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said at one point. “So, let’s be clear about that. And clearly, he is having a very difficult time processing that.”
The entire debate is a major win for the Democratic presidential nominee. Now she has to use the moment to her advantage. The footage of the debate and Trump’s unraveling can be used by her campaign to motivate the Democratic Party’s base of voters through a strong social media strategy – something the campaign has already been implementing.
Trump managed to fumble his debate remarks just as mail-in ballots are being sent out. In October, many states will have begun early voting. It’s unclear as to whether there will be another presidential debate before then.
No matter how well Harris performed at the debate, it doesn’t matter if people aren’t energized enough to vote for her.
Trump, on the other hand, already has a base of supporters who attend his rallies and speak up for him online. It doesn’t matter how he performed at the debate, and the MAGA crowd will make excuses for why he performed so poorly. Even his more erratic claims will be absolved by the people who follow his every move.
Your pets are safe:Desperate Trump drags viral, fever swamp nonsense onto debate stage
That’s why Harris needs to be strategic about how she uses the debate to her advantage in the coming weeks.
Ultimately, it could pay off more for her to focus on energizing her base and getting out the Democratic votes, instead of worrying about the small percentage of undecided voters in this race.
Despite what pundits and polls agree was a stellar night for Harris, it’s unclear if her performance will sway undecided voters. According to a CNN poll right after the debate, 63% of registered voters said she had a better performance.
However, this doesn’t mean undecided voters have made up their minds – or that there are enough of them to matter.
Days before the debate, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that about 10% of voters are still undecided. Of those, only about 20 people surveyed were in key battleground states where their decision could significantly affect the election outcome.
I’m not convinced that undecided voters are truly torn between Harris and Trump. To be truly undecided, you’d have to be able to excuse all of Trump’s faults.
Also, 10% is an incredibly small portion of the overall electorate, and might not be worth shifting the entire campaign strategy for outside of battlegrounds states that could decide this election.
Where Harris is excelling is voter enthusiasm. In March, Gallup found that only 55% of Democrats and Democratic leaners felt “more enthusiastic” than usual about voting in this election. In August, that number jumped to 78%.
Republicans and Republican leaners have seen a smaller increase in voter enthusiasm since March, from 59% to 64%.
Harris’ campaign might not be able to win over undecided voters, but it can still use clips from Tuesday night’s debate for content on social media and in television ads – which in turn could excite young voters, women and voters of color.
Taylor Swift endorsed Harris:It’s a big deal – even if you don’t think so
Her strong answer on abortion in particular could be used to energize voters in the up to 10 states with abortion-related ballot initiatives. Harris’ campaign could achieve this through targeted social media pushes in those key states among likely swing voters and Democrats, as well as by generating organic viral content like the campaign has done in the days following the debate.
There are dozens of posts the Harris campaign has made across platforms since the debate, all creating the potential for a new viral moment. A TikTok from the Kamala HQ account showcasing some of her best answers has 2 million likes on the platform. A campaign X post featuring the entire debate as Harris’ “newest ad” has nearly 120,000 likes.
So far in the campaign, Harris has been able to use social media to her advantage. There was “brat summer” and the social media influencers invited to the Democratic National Convention. Now, there is an entire Trump meltdown the campaign can use for the next few weeks to bolster the base and get folks to vote.
MAGA, on the other hand, needs no rallying. They consistently operate on a level of enthusiasm that the Democrats were lacking until Harris’ nomination. Because that’s the case, Harris must work to secure the votes of all Democrats within the coalition.
The best thing the Harris campaign can do now is continue its strong social media presence and remind everyone the stakes of this election.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno