The economy and abortion drew some of the strongest reactions from Chicago-area voters who gathered Tuesday night to see Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump debate for the first time during the presidential campaign.
The economy was the first question during the debate and one that was a key issue for both Democrats and Republicans.
Wanting to hear more on Harris’ vision on the economy ahead of the debate, Anika Chase, who is in her 40s and lives on the North Side, said she was happy with how Harris handled the question.
“Her answers were good, and she kept bringing up the policies she wants to do, and I agree with her small business plan and building more homes,” said Chase, who attended a watch party hosted by Ida’s Legacy, a progressive political organization, at Williams Inn Pizza & Sports Bar, 2210 S. Michigan Ave.
Lauren Kikee, a resident of Niles, came to a watch party at El Fuego in Skokie hosted by the Niles Township GOP with a couple of friends. A proud Republican and Trump supporter, she said her main issue was inflation, as she believes the current economy is “horrible.”
Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy, according to an AP-NORC poll from August.
Views about the economy aren’t especially rosy. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say economic conditions in the country are “getting worse,” according to a recent Gallup poll. And slightly fewer than half (45%) rate the U.S. economy as “poor” while 31% describe it as “only fair.” About one-quarter call it excellent or good.
By one measure, Americans are not better or worse off than four years ago. Earlier Tuesday, the Census Bureau released an annual report that showed inflation-adjusted U.S. median household income in 2023 rose for the first time since 2019 to $80,610 — about the same as it was four years before, in 2019.
Abortion prompted some of the strongest reactions at the watch parties.
Trump’s comments on “abortions in the ninth month” drew large jeers from the crowd at Williams Inn Pizza & Sports Bar and cheers when one of the moderators fact-checked him.
At the watch party at El Fuego in Skokie, attendees were in disbelief after Harris said, “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion,” with audible claims that she’s lying or “full of s—t.”
Recent polling shows that abortion is a strong topic for Harris.
About half of Americans (51%) say they trust Harris to do a better job of handling abortion policy than they do Trump (27%), according to an AP-NORC poll from August.
This is also an issue where Republicans give Trump relatively low marks, signaling some possible displeasure from his own party. Only about 6 in 10 Republicans trust Trump over Harris on these issues. About 15% trust Harris more, and about 1 in 10 trust both candidates equally. The debate was a chance for voters to learn more about Harris.
At the break, Mark Albers, the committeeman for Niles Township’s GOP who is running for Illinois’ 15th district representative, said he hoped the candidates use the rest of the time to discuss topics in more detail.
“It’s been interesting, the candidates are trading barbs, which I thought they would do,” he said. “I do want to see more actual issues covered.”
Some of those issues include national security, safety and the fentanyl crisis. He wanted them to go more in depth and spend more time discussing immigration.
Sadiqua Chandler, 51, lives in Beverly and is a longtime Republican but said that doesn’t mean her vote is going to Trump.
She’s undecided, she said before the debate got underway, and hoped to learn more about Harris’ stances on the border, foreign policy and the economy because she feels like she knows what Trump brings to the table.
Harris is more of a mystery for Chandler.
“I’m really hoping to hear what Kamala has to say about her politics,” Chandler said before the debate got underway. “I don’t know anything about her at all, and the fluff is good, but now we’re about to get to the meat and potatoes.”
Toward the end of the debate, Chandler thought Trump was “completely losing” because his answers were “all over the place” but still wanted to know more about Harris.
“She can’t just speak to the point of you’re confused or you’re losing your mind and you’re going to blow the country to bits,” referring to Harris’ attacks on Trump.
She still isn’t ready to side with a candidate.
Chandler said she didn’t get specific enough answers on her key issues: fracking, the Israel-Hamas war, international relationships and the border.
She was hopeful she could learn more at the second debate — if there is one.
“Maybe perhaps in the second debate we’ll hear more about specifically what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it,” she said.
Former 26th District State Rep Elga Jefferies, who attended the watch party at Williams Inn, wore a shirt with the vice president’s image that read “we’re not going back,” thought Harris won the debate handily.
“It was a TKO from the beginning, actually before it started,” Jefferies, 78, said. “[Trump] answered none of the questions that was asked and he was quite boring.”
She said she was hoping to hear Harris’ plan for young people and senior citizens, “and I got that from her.”
Contributing: AP