United States | Campaign calculus: now you see it

Kamala Harris’s post-debate bounce is now visible in the polls

But it comes with two big caveats

Supporters of Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris attend a watch party during the US Presidential debate.
Photograph: Getty Images

LIKE BIRD-WATCHERS with binoculars, observers of America’s presidential race have had their eyes trained on the opinion polls to see whether they can spot a post-debate bounce for either candidate. Now they can. According to The Economist’s poll tracker, Kamala Harris’s nationwide lead over Donald Trump has widened to 4.5 percentage points, from 3.8 points on September 10th, the day of their debate. A 0.7-point improvement is small but potentially significant, and gives Ms Harris her biggest lead yet in our tracker (see chart).

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Now you see it”

From the September 21st 2024 edition

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