Former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes said there is still a chance Donald Trump can defeat Hillary, if he sticks to the key economic issues endangering America's future.
"If Trump hits those pro-growth issues … cutting taxes, reforming health care, having a more firm foreign policy, rebuilding our defenses, he could still pull it out," Forbes told CNBC.
"People are looking for a reason to say, 'I could take a chance on this guy,'" the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media explained.
“More than 70% of the country feel we're on the wrong track. He hit on the economy. He did hit on the world falling apart," Forbes said of the debate.
"I wish there was more discussion on healthcare. That's the biggest mystery of this election. Why there hasn't been more discussion of a system that is collapsing. He did get in ‘We have to have change, economic policy; She wants to raise your taxes. I'll cut them,'” Forbes said.
“If he hammers that -- this is a fluid election. People are looking for a reason to vote for him,” Forbes said.
But some respected economic voices aren't impressed with either candidate.
"October isn’t over, and there are lots of clowns scaring people around the country as Halloween approaches. However, odds are that the stock market will remain listless until we see which of the two clowns running for president wins," said Newsmax Finance Insider Ed Yardeni.
"Both HRC and DJT have the highest unpopularity ratings of any candidates for the White House before. So the winner will be the one who scares the fewest voters," he wrote in a recent blog.
"Investors seem to prefer HRC. But her economic program includes higher taxes and more regulations. DJT’s program includes significant tax cuts and fewer regulations, but his anti-trade measures could be troublesome," Yardeni said.
"Both are extremely flawed characters, to say the least. So maybe neither one of them would be good for the economy and stocks."