Undecided voters were particularly alarmed with President Joe Biden's performance during Thursday night's debate, according to pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz, and post-debate polling provided further bad news for Biden.
"My focus group of undecided voters wants Joe Biden to step aside," Luntz posted on X. "They like him and respect him — most voted for him in 2020. But they want him to go. Tonight was a political earthquake."
Luntz posted on X throughout the debate about the reactions of his focus group of 14 undecided voters from battleground states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Here is a sample:
- "My focus group of undecided voters is surprised and concerned about Biden's voice. This doesn't bode well for questions about his health."
- "After the first commercial break, I asked my focus group of undecided voters how many of them are more convinced to vote for Joe Biden. Zero raised their hands. Half of them say they voted for Biden in 2020."
- "After the second commercial break, I asked my focus group of undecided voters how many are more convinced to vote for Donald Trump. 10 of 14 raised their hands. … Even if they didn't like Donald Trump. One said: 'I don't even know if Biden can make it to November!' "
- "I asked undecided voters how tonight's debate affected their vote: 'There are things I hate about Trump, but I think I made up my mind to vote for him because of who would take Biden's place in a second term.' 'I'll vote for Biden. We have 2 men who will dig us into a hole, so I'll vote for the shallower hole.' "
- "Another comment from my focus group of undecided voters: 'The expectations tonight for Biden were to just show up and look alive — and he blew it!'"
After the debate, Luntz appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box." He said this was the 32nd debate for which he has held a focus group, and he has never seen a performance such as Biden's.
"My focus group all came in undecided, all from swing states; 12 of the 14 swung to Donald Trump," he said. "Only one to Joe Biden. We've never had that before. We are truly in uncharted territory and what blew me away the most was that Joe Biden voters in 2020 don't want him on the ticket in 2024."
Luntz's reaction mirrors the results of a snap poll of 2,690 U.S. adults by YouGov on Friday morning in which 49%, including 30% of Democrats, said the Democratic Party should nominate someone other than Biden for president.
In the same poll, 44%, including 80% of Republicans, said the Republican Party should nominate Trump, with 38% saying someone else and 18% not sure.
The poll had a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.