After Harris, Trump debate politicos spin for their candidate
Politicos go to bat for their candidate during the first debate between Trump and Harris
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has the opportunity to be the first Democrat to win a county in Oklahoma in more than 20 years, data from a new poll shows.
A recent survey of 400 registered Oklahoma County voters found Harris was tied with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, with 45% support for each candidate. Another 4% said they would vote for other candidates on the ballot, while 6% of those surveyed said they were undecided.
The results indicate Harris has a chance to win Oklahoma County, pollster Pat McFerron, who conducted the poll, wrote in an email to The Oklahoman. A victory for Harris would mark the first county-level win for a Democratic presidential candidate since Al Gore carried nine rural counties in 2000, McFerron said.
The poll, which has a margin of error of 4.9%, was conducted in late August.
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The results also signal that at least half of voters in Oklahoma County, the most populous in the state, will not like the winning presidential candidate, McFerron said.
Writing in the September edition of the Sooner Survey, McFerron said 50% of Oklahoma County voters think the country is headed in the right direction, which he described as a “marked improvement from the mid-30s we see statewide.”
“When asked about the most important issues facing the county, we tend to see local issues like schools, homelessness, infrastructure and the county jail being more prevalent than the national issues like inflation, immigration or abortion ― though the last three are certainly on the minds of voters,” he wrote.
Democrats said they see the poll results as a positive sign.
“A lot of it comes down to what people are seeing and reading and hearing between the two candidates,” said state Rep. Mickey Dollens, a Democrat from Oklahoma City.
Dollens, who has spent the summer campaigning for fellow Democrats, pointed to Tuesday’s debate between Harris and Trump as an example of why voters were moving away from the GOP. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Harris’ platform convinces enough voters to “make Oklahoma County go blue.”
Still, while there is a possibility that Oklahoma County could go from red to purple in November’s election, McFerron said he expected Republican candidates to have an advantage on down-ballot races ― even though the top of the ticket looks to be very close.
He said the key takeaways from the poll were that Oklahoma County is diverging from the state in both partisanship and, to a lesser degree, ideology.
Dollens said he believed voters, especially those in urban areas, were pushing back against policies they view as extreme, such as recent mandates issued by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters.
“I think that Oklahomans want a more centrist and moderate Legislature ― especially voters from the city,” he said.
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Publish date : 2024-09-11 12:59:00
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