Donald Trump on Sunday may have stopped the political hemorrhage that threatened his presidential campaign and perhaps his Republican Party, at least in the heartland state of Missouri.
His attacks on rival Hillary Clinton in their second debate Sunday in St. Louis helped energize some of his voters and remind them of their opposition to Clinton, according to interviews with a focus group of Missouri voters conducted by the McClatchy Washington Bureau and McClatchy’s Kansas City Star.
At the same time, though, his decision to broaden his attacks to former President Bill Clinton and accusations of sexual misconduct did not help, with several voters saying they did not like it and that it drove them more into Hillary Clinton’s camp.
In all, six of 16 members of the group changed their thinking about the candidates.
Three moved closer to Trump. One moved from leaning toward Clinton to solidly for Clinton, one moved from undecided to Clinton and another moved from Libertarian Gary Johnson to undecided.
The three who moved closer to Trump suggested the businessman still has some political life. This debate was crucial to his survival in the race, coming two days after release of an 11-year-old tape showing him boasting about making unwanted sexual advances to women.
Nationally, a CNN post-debate poll found 57 percent thought Clinton won the debate while 34 percent gave the victory to Trump.
But 63 percent said Trump had done better than they’d expected, and 60 percent said Clinton had done worse than anticipated. That roughly reflected the views of the focus group, whose members generally agreed Trump performed better Sunday than in the first debate Sept. 26.
Trump’s backers were still not crazy about him, but they shuddered at the idea of Hillary Clinton as president.
“I vehemently disagree with her stances,” said Tim Melin, 31, who works in purchasing in Kansas City. He was leaning to Trump before the debate. He was solidly for Trump afterward, although he gave Clinton high marks for answering questions directly.
Tim Davis, 34, a construction worker from Gladstone, Missouri, followed the same path, notably because he fears what Clinton would do to the Supreme Court.
“Unfortunately,” he said, he’d vote for Trump, because of the court. “To me, that says more about this country’s future than the presidency does.”
He was leaning Trump earlier Sunday, and the debate solidified his support.
“One moment she’s all for banning personal ownership of guns,” he explained. “tonight, she’s ‘Oh, I respect the Second Amendment.’ ”
Melinda McMahon, 31, a University of Missouri-Kansas City law student, had been leaning to Clinton before the debate. After the exchange, she inched into the undecided camp.
McMahon had voted for the GOP’s Mitt Romney in 2012 and backed John Kasich, the center-right governor of Ohio, in the Republican primary. But Trump appalls her.
“I don’t really see him as an effective leader,” she said.
I have many moral qualms with Trump as a person.
Melinda McMahon, an undecided voter
The furor over the Trump tape helped Clinton a bit, and Trump hurt himself somewhat by bringing up Bill Clinton’s history. Trump had invited three women who have accused Bill Clinton of rape or unwanted sexual advances to sit in the first row of the debate audience, a visual reminder of his criticism of the Clintons.
“I don’t think it’s an effective attack,” said Alex Boyer, 26. “Attacking Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton is the very definition of hypocrisy.” Boyer is planning to vote for Johnson.
Jazmine Clark, 21, of Kansas City, moved solidly into Hillary Clinton’s camp. She saw no reason for Trump to bring up Clinton’s husband.
Shacyra Johnson, 21, of Kansas City, went from undecided to leaning toward voting for Clinton. She didn’t appreciate Trump’s comments about Muslims, and while she’s still not enthusiastic about Clinton, “at least she knows what she’d doing.”
Clinton 44.3 percent, Trump 40.6 percent. Latest RealClearPolitics national poll averages.
Voters who began the night eager to see Clinton improve her standing maintained she had done well. “Trump, from a character standpoint, was completely unqualified,” said Thomas Randolph, a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City law school.
He had been leaning Clinton before the tape was released, and quickly moved solidly into her camp when he saw it.
Trump’s ability to solidify his support in Missouri is critical, if not for his own prospects then for those of other Republicans.
Most politicians in the state think Trump enjoys a small lead a month before the election and will likely claim Missouri’s 10 electoral votes. But they say the weekend’s events could erode Republican enthusiasm in the state, threatening down-ballot candidates such as Sen. Roy Blunt, who is locked in a tight race with Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.
Helling reports for The Kansas City Star.