US elections 2016: Clinton wins first debate, but does it matter?
Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of Sept. 26.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump held their much-anticipated first debate Sept. 26, and the conventional wisdom has Clinton winning decisively. In related news, her polling numbers haven't budged one bit.
An estimated 82 million people tuned in to the debate at Long Island's Hofstra University, breaking the 1980 record by 2 million. Most polls and pundits gave her high marks for her mastery of policy details and her cool demeanor in the face of Trump's attacks, while the Republican businessman landed some jabs with his plain-spoken remarks on trade and the need for "law and order."
Still, the most interesting result from the showdown was how little impact it may end up having. According to a new Morning Consult poll, although half of likely voters said that Clinton won the debate (26% said Trump), eight in 10 said that the debate wasn’t going to change their vote.
Head-to-head polling suggests as much.
