To voters, VP debate apparently made no damn difference | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Most voters are fixed in their views of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Tim Kaine annoyed people. And voters want more talk about issues.

Those were key findings from an 11-person focus group conducted by McClatchy and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University Tuesday night.

Here are three major impressions from the session, which included a 15 minute discussion before the debate and a 40 minute forum afterwards:

1. Virtually no minds were changed.

The group confirmed what polls have found: Most people have largely made up their minds.

Undecideds were 1 percent of the Virginia vote, according to the Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy poll last week. Seven percent listed don’t know or none. Clinton led Trump 42-35 percent.

A 90-minute debate will hardly erase impressions of the candidates that have taken months and even years to form. “I don’t think there’s anything that would change how I vote, “said Carol Davis, a McLean, Va., homemaker and Ph.D. candidate.

Erik Goepner, a Ph.D. student at George Mason, is a Republican who identifies as a social and fiscal conservative and evangelical.

He will not vote for Trump; he’ll choose Clinton. “My disdain for Trump is complete, but the one area that makes voting for him impossible is his fatally flawed moral character,” Goepner said Wednesday, as he sized up the debate.

Pence did not move him.

“I didn't think Kaine should have interrupted so much,” Goepner said, “but it didn't bother me in any meaningful sense because there's no comparison between the two camps.”

2. Tell us more about where you stand on issues.

The debate did feature exchanges on a variety of topics, but the focus group still wanted more.. Especially younger voters.

Nine of the 11 were under 31 years old, a key bloc this year as it’s uncertain whether they’ll turn out in big numbers. Clinton leads among 18 to 34 year olds in Virginia with 42 percent. Trump and Libertarian Gary Johnson, who had the support of two focus group members, have 24 percent each.

The debate “will probably turn young people away,” said Zach Feidner, an Arlington graduate student and a Democrat. Younger voters are concerned about jobs and student debt, and they didn’t hear much from the candidates.

Voters also wanted more depth on economics. Douglas Cheeseman, a Republican voter from Oakton who’s backing Johnson, found too much “talking about flaws of the other side.” And there was little discussion of health care.

3. Tim Kaine bothered people.

The lesson was don’t be rude or smug, and look at your opponent, not the audience or the moderator.

Even Democrats were critical of the party’s vice presidential candidate. “Kaine allowed his temperament to run into the ground,” said Xavier Clark, an intern from Arlington and a Democrat.

Joshua Lee, a research assistant from Arlington and an independent, found Kaine’s tone “too aggressive.”

They found Pence almost refreshing. “He keeps his cool,” said Jess Wetterau, a finance analyst from Arlington. A Republican, she was leaning Clinton before the debate, undecided afterward, though she still is wary of Trump.

A big reason: Issues. “Clinton is more intelligent,” Wetterau said.