Former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, told Newsmax on Wednesday that even though he believes Vice President Kamala Harris won Tuesday night's debate with Donald Trump, it remains to be seen whether that will hold sway with undecided voters in November.
"As far as debating goes, I think [Harris] absolutely won," Ryan told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "But undecided voters, you don't know what they're looking for … [and] the voters ultimately decide. And [even though] people inside Washington and inside political campaigns think they do, but ultimately it will be those voters. And you just don't know what a single voter is looking at; a smile, a demeanor, a tone of voice.
"This is a tight race, and this is going to go right to the finish and the voters will end up in those swing states being the ones who ultimately decide."
Ryan resigned his house seat to run for the U.S. Senate but lost to J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate, in 2022. He was asked at this point in the presidential election cycle how a voter still could be undecided.
"That's a big question you're asking me there, Greta," he said. "I have no idea. I just think people don't pay attention to this like you do or I do. No matter what news network you look at, you look at the ratings.
"There are tens of millions of people, 20 million people in a country of 340 or [350] million people. So, people are working. They're raising kids. They're playing. They're going to their kids' sports and extracurricular activities. They spend their weekends in the fall pretty much watching football and doing kind of cool outdoor stuff.
"They're not following this like we are. And so that's why I say these little moments that reveal character, reveal values, reveal a personality, have more to do with whether or not someone's going to vote for somebody or not, and they're going to start paying attention right near the end. And that's why it's going to be such a close race."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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