CNN
—

Joan London knew at the beginning of the debate on Tuesday that she would not vote for Donald Trump. But when it was over, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar situation: she was ready to cast her first vote for a Democrat – in the contested state of Pennsylvania.

“Harris clearly won,” said London, a lawyer who lives in conservative Berks County. “And I’m voting for her now, even though I disagree on many policy issues.”

London became a Republican at age 18 and was a fan of Ronald Reagan’s conservative approach. She voted for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the primary earlier this year, but then switched to independent voting because she considers Trump an angry populist.

Until this week’s debate in Philadelphia, however, she was prepared to uphold her conservative principles and nominate another Republican as her candidate. But everything changed when the former president repeatedly refused to say that he believed it was crucial that the United States stand with Ukraine. Trump said he wanted to end the war and suggested he could negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“Conservatives don’t negotiate with communist dictators who invade other countries,” London said in a post-debate text. “To reform the Republican Party, Trump must lose decisively, and when that happens, I’ll be back.”

London is one of over 70 voters in 10 states participating in our All Over The Map project, an effort to follow the 2024 election campaign through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in swing states or are part of critical voting blocs.

Her decision to support Vice President Kamala Harris was the most significant shift in the response we received from this group of voters during the debate and immediately afterward. None of our voters who had decided on a candidate before Tuesday’s public debate changed their minds, although several Trump supporters expressed concerns about his performance.

“She was ready,” said Chris Mudd, a Trump supporter from Cedar Falls, Iowa. But he added: “Trump can make some positive changes. Kamala is just hot air, not cattle.”

Lisa Reissman, a Harris supporter in Wisconsin, had a very different opinion.

“Harris was remarkable,” Reissman said. “Trump seemed irrational and desperate.”

In close elections, enthusiasm can play a role, and the debate among Democrats is very different now that Harris has replaced President Joe Biden as the nominee. Even Democrats who doubted Biden but would have voted for him anyway are speaking much more forcefully about their support for Harris, including in their debate ratings.

“She showed us tonight that she is a president,” said Davette Baker, an African-American Democratic activist from Milwaukee.

Larry Malinconico, a geology professor at Lafayette College in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is part of this group.

“While I have always believed in doing everything I can to keep Trump out of office, I am also now much more confident that Vice President Harris is a great presidential candidate.”

Several voters who are undecided or lean toward Harris or Trump but are open to a candidate switch gave Harris more positive ratings for her debate performance, but some said she was not specific enough in explaining her policy proposals.

“Kamala Harris says she wants to strengthen the middle class, but how?” asked Linda Rooney, a Haley primary voter who lives in a Philadelphia suburb. She also expressed concerns that Harris might change her stance on fracking and other issues.

“That’s why I don’t trust her,” said Rooney, who voted for Trump in 2016 but for Joe Biden in 2020. “She’s not a moderate.”

Rooney would rather not vote for Trump, but is not a fan of Biden and Harris’ economic policies.

“He is so disappointing,” she said of Trump’s response to his behavior on January 6, 2021. “Kamala is right to call him out on it.”

Rooney emailed us twice saying that Trump “got off topic” during the immigration debate.

“I still can’t vote for her,” Rooney said of Harris. “But I don’t want to vote for Trump. … I feel so lonely in the middle.”

Rooney is from Media, Delaware County. The same goes for Cynthia Sabatini, a Republican who supported Reagan and “never voted for Trump.” She plans to register with a conservative party or vote for a third party if Harris cannot win her over. The vice president did not do so on Tuesday night.

“She’s a good debater,” Sabatini said. “But I think she has to answer questions objectively.” In particular, said Sabatini, Harris failed from the start when asked whether she thought Americans were better off than they were four years ago, and also on questions about the border.

“I am undecided,” was her assessment after the debate.

Antonio Munoz also said Harris could have won a bigger debate if she had been more specific and responsive.

Munoz is a veteran and former police officer who now runs a taco restaurant and catering business in Las Vegas.

He sat down for the debate, leaning toward Harris, but not ready to commit. He stayed there afterward.

“Kamala was very calm,” Munoz said of the vice president. “Trump was Trump. Killing babies after birth. Immigrants eating cats and dogs. How do you defend such untrue comments?”

But Munoz said he needs to hear more before Harris is guaranteed her vote in the battleground state of Nevada.

“Not enough substance to move forward,” Munoz said of her performance in the debate.

Zoila Sanchez, on the other hand, is firmly in the Harris camp, even though she describes herself as a Reagan Republican.

“Their focus on real problems and pragmatic solutions was refreshing,” said Sanchez, a Las Vegas real estate agent. “Donald Trump seemed unpredictable and out of control. … We need politicians who are grounded in reality.”

Allen Naparalla also wants more details from Harris, but he is now ready to commit after telling us in July, when Biden resigned, that he did not think Harris was suitable for the job.

“At this point, I just want to vote for optimism in the world,” said Naparalla, who runs a winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. “We need something to be happy about and look forward to. Enough of the negativity.”

Other Harris voters were pleased with her success in distracting and unsettling Trump.

“A master class,” said Marvin Boyer, a civil rights activist in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, a key swing county. “She was calm, focused and composed. He was defensive, angry and out of control.”

Several Trump supporters also said Harris had succeeded in throwing Trump off track.

“Kamala successfully dodged the questions and provoked Donald,” said Natalya Orlando, a Trump voter from New Hampshire. “The preparations for the debate were exciting, but the debate itself was OK. Nothing new.”

Priscilla Forsyth, a lawyer from Sioux City, Iowa, also said: “Trump was not at her best and fell for the bait a few too many times. But she seemed so fake, especially when she tried to talk about unifying the country. I will never believe that she can or would represent my interests.”

This was a common theme among Trump’s supporters: that Harris was inauthentic.

“Kamala Harris’ constant posturing and insincere theatrics during Trump’s speech seemed immature, rehearsed and off-putting,” said Rachel Kulak, a Christian conservative who lives in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia.

“His defensive reactions were not helpful,” said Jaclyn Taylor, a businesswoman from Iowa, about Trump. “Kamala seemed inauthentic for most of the evening.”

Billy Pierce, a Trump supporter from South Carolina, referred to Harris’ time in the administration. “I just can’t believe Kamala is talking about change when she’s been in office for three and a half years.”

Debbie Katsanos, a Trump supporter from New Hampshire, said: “The status quo has to change. This was once a great country and now it’s not.”

Betsy Sarcone, who supported Haley in the Iowa caucuses but plans to vote for Trump in November, said of Harris: “Her memorized and regurgitated lyrics lack depth.”

For several voters who were dissatisfied with their choice even after the change at the top of the Democratic list, their disappointment did not change on Tuesday evening.

“I want something better than this,” said Stanley Tremblay, an independent from New Hampshire. “I’m just afraid we’ve dug ourselves a hole we can’t get out of.”

Gina Cilento, a competitive pickleball player who owns a training studio in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, shared Tremblay’s dismay.

“It’s exhausting,” she wrote during the debate. “It just makes me so sad. Is this the best thing our country can do?”