Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J., fared well in Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate while former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, was the "big loser," pollster Frank Luntz told Newsmax TV.
Luntz joined Newsmax moments after the debate ended to weigh in on the action and told host John Bachman that Booker's stock likely went up.
"In response after response, Sen. Booker was quite effective," Luntz said. "He spoke about issues that Democrats cared about, and he spoke about it in a way that was passionate and powerful. I think you're gonna see his numbers rise."
Regarding O'Rourke, who represented Texas in the House from 2013-2019, Luntz was less enthusiastic and gave a blunt assessment.
"I think that Beta O'Rourke was the big loser," he said. "Someone needs to go and see how many times he buttoned and unbuttoned his coat because he was playing with it the entire time. I'm wondering, what's going on down there that that's where his hands are?"
O'Rourke and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro had several sparring matches early in the debate, and at times they talked over one another. Despite some analysts saying Castro came out of the debate looking strong, Luntz said the exchanges with O'Rourke might have been a turnoff for some voters.
"Voters do not like it when candidates talk over each other," Luntz said. "They want to hear what both sides have to say. I think both of them are hurt by those exchanges."
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