Tuesday night marked the first and perhaps only debate between top presidential contenders former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Both the New Mexico Republican and Democratic parties issued statements following the debate.
“Both sides executed their points pretty well, but it’s going to come down to will voters believe the utopia Kamala Harris is selling them or what they see. Times are very tough right now and they are about to get tougher. I’m talking to people every day, restaurant owners, and small businesses that may have to close because they can’t afford the rent anymore. New Mexico now has the highest poverty rate in the nation, so inflation impacts our citizens more than in any other state,” RPNM chairman Steve Pearce said in a press release. “The underlying question for Harris is why isn’t she already doing the things she is proposing, but, as usual, she did not give voters an answer. President Trump spoke directly to New Mexicans who know their neighborhoods have become unsafe and to our border communities who feel abandoned, those whom Harris seemed to laugh about.”
Over in the Democratic Party of New Mexico, party spokesman Daniel Garcia noted the candidates’ demeanors.
“While Kamala Harris came prepared to talk about her accomplishments and vision for the country, Donald Trump focused on himself and a confused, revisionist history about his criminal record and failed presidency, proving his utter inability to lead,” Garcia said in a press release. “(Trump) tried to hide from his extreme plans to give himself unprecedented and unchecked power, taken right out of the Project 2025 playbook. It is alarming that someone who demonstrated the level of immaturity we saw tonight wants to lead the United States.”
Related: Talking to NM Democratic delegates after Biden leaves race, endorses Harris
Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 during the debate stating that “I have nothing to do with Project 2025” and that “I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it. Purposely, I’m not going to read it.”
The debate dynamic changed when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July following a lackluster performance at a debate against Trump in June.
A YouGov poll of 3,378 respondents after the debate showed that 43 percent of those respondents think Harris won the debate with 28 percent thinking Trump won and 30 percent of respondents not being sure who won.
