CNN's instant poll says Harris won VP debate

(Image credit: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) won the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle Tuesday night — at least in the eyes of those who responded to a rapid CNN reaction poll.

The instant survey showed 59 percent of those who watched the event thought Harris out-performed Vice President Mike Pence on stage, compared to just 38 percent who thought Pence won the night. Harris also improved her favorability rating by seven points in the poll, while Pence's numbers remained flat in that category.

Those numbers may or may not hold up in the next few days as more thorough reactions to the debate come in, but, for now, Harris appears to have done enough to maintain Joe Biden's substantial lead in the polls.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.