CNN
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Joan London knew when Tuesday’s debate began that she wouldn’t be voting for Donald Trump. But when it ended, she was in a very unfamiliar place: ready to cast her first vote for a Democrat for president. In battleground Pennsylvania, by the way.

“Harris clearly won,” said London, an attorney who lives in conservative Berks County. “And I’m voting for her now, even though I have a lot of serious policy disagreements.”

London became a Republican when she turned 18, a fan of Ronald Reagan’s brand of conservatism. Earlier this year, she cast a primary vote for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, then changed her registration to independent because she sees Trump as an angry populist.

Until this week’s debate in Philadelphia, however, she had planned to honor her conservative principles and write in another Republican. But everything changed when the former president repeatedly refused to say he believed it was crucial for the United States to stand by Ukraine. Trump said he wanted to end the war and suggested he could negotiate a peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“Conservatives don’t negotiate with communist dictators who invade other countries,” London said in a post-debate text. “It will take a decisive loss for Trump to reform the GOP, and I will be back when that happens.”

London is one of 70 voters in 10 states participating in our All Over The Map project, an effort to follow the 2024 campaign through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in or are part of critical voting groups in critical states.

Her decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris was the most significant change in the reaction we received from this group of voters during the debate and in its immediate aftermath. None of our voters who had already chosen a candidate before gathering on stage on Tuesday had changed their minds, although several Trump supporters expressed concerns about his performance.

“She was ready,” said Chris Mudd, a Trump loyalist from Cedar Falls, Iowa. But he added: “Trump can make positive changes. Kamala is all hat, no cattle.”

Lisa Reissman, a Harris supporter in Wisconsin, had a very different take on the matter.

“Harris was remarkable,” Reissman said. “Trump came across as irrational and desperate.”

Enthusiasm can matter in close races, and the conversation among Democrats is very different now that Harris has replaced President Joe Biden as the nominee. Even Democrats who had doubts about Biden but would have voted for him anyway are using much more energetic language in their support for Harris, including in their debate ratings.

“She showed us tonight that she is a president,” said Davette Baker, an African-American Democratic activist in Milwaukee.

Larry Malinconico, a geology professor at Lafayette College in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, fits into this group.

“While I have always believed that I would do anything to keep Trump out of office, I now have much more confidence that Vice President Harris is a great presidential candidate.”

Several voters who are undecided or leaning toward Harris or Trump but are open to a change of candidate gave Harris more positive reviews for her debate performance. However, tellingly, a number said she was not specific enough in explaining her policy proposals.

“Kamala Harris says she wants to lift up the middle class, but how?” said Linda Rooney, a Haley primary voter who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs. She also expressed concern about Harris’ shifting positions on fracking and other issues.

“That’s why I don’t trust her,” said Rooney, who voted for Trump in 2016 but for Joe Biden in 2020. “She’s not a moderate.”

Rooney would rather not vote for Trump, but is not a fan of Biden and Harris’ economic policies.

“He’s so disappointing,” she said of Trump’s response to his behavior on January 6, 2021. “Kamala is right to call him out on this.”

Rooney emailed us twice saying Trump was “off the rails” during the immigration debates.

“I still can’t vote for her,” Rooney said of Harris. “But I don’t want to vote for Trump. … I feel so alone in the middle.”

Rooney is from Media, in Delaware County. So is Cynthia Sabatini, a Reagan Republican and “never Trump” voter who plans to write a conservative or vote third-party unless Harris convinces her. The vice president did not do so Tuesday night.

“She’s a good debater,” Sabatini said. “But I think she needs to answer questions about the issue.” Sabatini specifically said Harris failed immediately when asked if she believed Americans were better off than they were four years ago and again when asked about the border.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” was her assessment after the debate.

Antonio Munoz also said Harris could have had a bigger victory in the debate if she had been more specific and responsive.

Munoz is a veteran and former police officer who now runs a taco restaurant and catering company in Las Vegas.

He sat down for the debate, leaning toward Harris, but not ready to commit. He remains there afterward.

“Kamala was very even-keeled,” Munoz said of the vice president. “Trump was Trump. Killing babies after they’re born. Immigrants eating cats and dogs. How do you defend those untruthful comments?”

But Munoz said he needs to hear more before Harris is sure of his vote in the decisive Nevada race.

“Not enough substance on how to move forward,” Munoz said of her performance during the debate.

Zoila Sanchez, on the other hand, belongs firmly in the Harris camp, even though she calls herself a Reagan Republican.

“Her focus on real issues and pragmatic solutions was refreshing,” said Sanchez, a Las Vegas real estate agent. “Donald Trump seemed erratic and out of control. … We need leaders who are down to earth.”

Allen Naparalla also wants more details from Harris. But he is now willing to budge, after telling us in July, when Biden stepped aside, that he did not think Harris was qualified for the job.

“At this point, I just want to vote for optimism in the world,” said Naparalla, who runs a winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. “We need something to be happy about and look forward to. Enough negativity.”

Other Harris voters were pleased with her success in distracting and unsettling Trump.

“A master class,” said Marvin Boyer, a civil rights activist in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, a crucial swing county. “She was calm, focused and collected. He was defensive, angry and out of control.”

Several Trump supporters also said Harris had managed to throw Trump off his game.

“Kamala successfully dodged the questions and triggered Donald,” said Natalya Orlando, a Trump voter in New Hampshire. “The lead-up to the debate was exciting, but the debate itself was OK. Nothing new.”

Priscilla Forsyth, an attorney in Sioux City, Iowa, also said: “Trump was not at his best and fell for it a few too many times. But she seemed so fake, especially when she tried to talk about uniting the country. I will never believe that she could or would represent my interests.”

That was a recurring theme among Trump loyalists: that Harris is not authentic.

“Kamala Harris’ constant posturing and disingenuous theatricality as Trump spoke came across as immature, rehearsed and off-putting,” said Rachel Kulak, a Christian conservative who lives in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

“His defensive responses were not helpful,” Iowa entrepreneur Jaclyn Taylor said of Trump. “Kamala didn’t feel genuine the entire evening.”

Billy Pierce, a Trump supporter from South Carolina, pointed to Harris’ time in office. “I just can’t believe Kamala is talking about change when she’s been in office for three and a half years.”

Debbie Katsanos, a Trump supporter in New Hampshire, said: “The status quo has to change. This was once a great country and now it’s not.”

Betsy Sarcone, who supported Haley in the Iowa caucuses but plans to vote for Trump in November, said of Harris: “Her memorized and repetitive statements lack depth.”

Several voters who are still unhappy with their choice, even after the change of the Democratic list, saw nothing on Tuesday evening to assuage their disappointment.

“I want better than this,” said Stanley Tremblay, an independent from New Hampshire. “I’m just afraid we’ve dug a hole that we can’t get out of.”

Gina Cilento, a competitive pickleball player who owns a training studio in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, echoed Tremblay’s dismay.

“It’s exhausting,” she texted during the debate. “It just makes me so sad. This is the best our country can do?”