From a forum of undecided North Carolina voters who gathered to watch the first presidential debate, according to McClatchyDC.com on September 27:
“Kae Roberts and Jay Eardly were leaning toward Hillary Clinton before Monday night’s debate.
“By the end, they had both pulled away.
“John Kokos and Hank Federal were undecided going in, potential Clinton backers.
“By the end, they’d ruled her out.
“Indeed, while polls found that Clinton had won the first general-election debate with Donald Trump on Monday, she may not have won actual votes. And she may even have lost some, at least in the battleground state of North Carolina.”
“One potential winner in the focus group was Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who benefited largely because so many voters were annoyed at both Trump and Clinton.
“’I was looking for Hillary to convince me, but I’m not getting the Hillary I’m looking for,’ particularly on taxes, said Eardly, an unaffiliated voter. By the end of the debate, he’d moved from Clinton to considering Johnson.”
“Johnson, said supporters, was an agent of change, but he didn’t have Trump’s bombast. While they didn’t have many specific reasons for moving his way, they were intrigued.
‘“I wish he’d been at the debate,’ said Federal, a Republican who was undecided before the debate.”
“But Trump couldn’t capitalize on the lack of enthusiasm for Clinton. The debate, said James Brown, an unaffiliated voter, ‘was like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit. I got absolutely nothing out of this.’ He’s considering Johnson.”
