The cable news pundits have been giving their opinions on who won the second Democratic debate. Of course, their opinions are not worth much (if anything at all). The only thing that matters is what the Democratic and Independent voters think.
The Morning Consult Poll didn't waste any time trying to find out about that. They questioned a national sample of 2,419 registered voters likely to vote in a Democratic primary (or caucus) on August 1st -- the day after the debates were done. The margin of error for the poll is 2 points.
If any of the lesser candidates thought they did well enough in the second debate to break out and join the leaders, then they are going to be very disappointed with this survey. This first post-debate poll looks just like the pre-debate polls did. There was very little, if any, movement in the support numbers for any candidate.
NOTE -- There are now eight candidates that have qualified for the next debate in mid-September. They are Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker, and Amy Klobuchar. It's time for the other candidates to take a long hard look at their own candidacies and ask -- Am I just wasting time and money?
