>>> WE HAVE NEW POLLING, A MARQUETTE LAW SCHOOL SURVEY OF WISCONSIN VOTERS CONDUCTED IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE FINDS VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS LEADING FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP 52-48% AMONG REGISTERED VOTERS IN A HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUP, THOUGH THAT IS STILL WITHIN THE MARGIN OF ERROR. JOINING US NOW, NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NATION, JOHN NICHOLS, AND SENIOR EDITOR AND ELECTIONS ANALYST AT THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT, DAVID WASSERMAN. JOHN, IS THIS A BIG DEAL? >> YEAH, IT'S A BIG DEAL. WHEN YOU GET OVER 50% IN WISCONSIN, THAT ALWAYS COUNTS FOR SOMETHING, AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY, OF THE LAST SIX PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN WISCONSIN, FOUR HAVE BEEN DECIDED BY UNDER 25,000 VOTES. SO WISCONSIN IS ALWAYS CLOSE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS. BUT IF YOU BEGIN TO OPEN UP SOMEWHAT OF A MARGIN, ESPECIALLY IN THE MARQUETTE POLL THAT IS GENERALLY SEEN AS THE BEST POLL IN THE STATE, AND THE ONE THAT'S MOST IN TUNE WITH WHERE THE STATE IS AT, PEOPLE DO WAKE UP. IN FACT, IN WISCONSIN, THIS IS BIG NEWS. >> DAVE, DO YOU AGREE? >> WELL, WISCONSIN IS A CLOSE STATE. OBVIOUSLY IT WAS WITHIN ABOUT 23,000 VOTES IN 2020, AND THE QUESTION IS DOES TRUMP SEE THE SAME SURGE OF WHITE NON-COLLEGE VOTERS THAT WAS UNDER REPRESENTED IN POLLS IN 2016 AND 2020. AND EVEN THOUGH WISCONSIN AND MICHIGAN LOOK LIKE HARRIS'S BEST STATES OF THE SEVEN IN THE CORE BATTLEGROUND, WISCONSIN IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE DICEY, AND SHE'S GOING TO NEED A BIGGER SHOWING IN THE WOW COUNTIES TO OFFSET THE LIKELY TRUMP MARGIN IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN WISCONSIN. >> DAVE, THERE'S STILL SO MANY VOTERS OUT THERE WHO ARE TELLING US AND TELLING POLLSTERS THEY'RE UNDECIDED. THEY WANT TO SEE MORE FROM VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS. HOW DO YOU INTERPRET WANTING TO SEE MORE? WHAT DOES MORE MEAN? . >> WELL, YEAH, THERE ARE MORE VOTERS WHO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT KAMALA HARRIS THAN DONALD TRUMP. NIELSEN SAYS ABOUT 67 MILLION PEOPLE TUNED INTO THE DEBATE, WHICH IS LESS THAN HALF OF THE LIKELY ELECTORATE WE'RE GOING TO SEE THIS FALL. THE ROUGHLY 7% THAT REMAIN UNDECIDED SKEW YOUNGER, A LITTLE BIT MORE DIVERSE, AND A LITTLE BIT MORE FEMALE THAN THE ELECTORATE AS A WHOLE. THAT SHOULD SUGGEST UPSIDE FOR KAMALA HARRIS, BUT WE ALL KNOW THEY DISAPPROVE OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION'S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY, THEY DISLIKE TRUMP PERSONALLY BUT BELIEVE HE DID A BETTER JOB MANAGING THE ECONOMY THAN SHE DID. IN THE LAST LATE AUGUST POLL, SHE WAS DOWN SIX, WHEN IT CAME TO WHO WAS DOING A BETTER JOB REIGNING IN INFLATION. I'M CURIOUS AFTER THIS DEBATE, WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO SHOW, AS FAR AS WHETHER SHE'S CLOSED THE GAP ON THAT QUESTION. >> YOU'RE NODDING YOUR HEAD. >> LOOK, WE'RE EARLY IN THIS CAMPAIGN. THE DEBATE WAS REALLY THE START OF THE FALL CAMPAIGN. THERE'S SIMPLY NO QUESTION THAT IN LATE JULY AND AUGUST, WHAT KAMALA HARRIS DID WAS CLEAN UP THE MESS, RIGHT, TO GET THE DEMOCRATS BACK TO A POINT WHERE THEY WERE COMPETITIVE IN THE BATTLE GROUND STATES, MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE AHEAD IN SOME. AND ALSO TO STOP THE EROSION OF SUPPORT IN SOME STATES THAT WERE CONSIDERED BATTLEGROUNDS. HARRIS HAS DONE THAT. SHE IS NOW IN VERY COMPETITIVE POSITION. WE'LL SEE THE PLAY OUT OF THE DEBATE, SHE MAY BE IN AN EVEN MORE COMPETITIVE POSITION. WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, AND WHAT WE SEE IN THIS WISCONSIN BY MARQUETTE, AGAIN, THE LAW SCHOOL THERE, WHICH DOES VERY VERY GOOD POLLING IN WISCONSIN, IS REAL MOVEMENT, AND THIS ISN'T JUST MOVEMENT FROM WHERE BIDEN IS AT. THIS IS MOVEMENT FROM WHERE HARRIS WAS AT. IF SHE CONTINUES THIS, THEN, YEAH, HER POSITION IN WISCONSIN IS GOING TO BE A STRONG ONE. NOW, WE CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN. THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO SEE OVER THE COMING WEEKS. >> 6 TO 7 MILLION IS HALF THE ELECTORATE, BUT YEAH, IT'S STILL QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WHO GOT A CHANCE TO SEE HER, THE MOST VIEWER SHIP IN 16 YEARS, ACCORDING TO ABC NEWS, THAT'S WHEN THE NUMBER WAS 65 MILLION. WHO KNOWS WHAT THE NUMBER IS IN TERMS OF HISTORIC VIEWERSHIP. I DON'T HAVE THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR, AND WE'RE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE DEBATE BECAUSE THINGS COULD CHANGE. DO YOU SEE MOVEMENT IN OTHER STATES THAT YOU THINK IS SIGNIFICANT? >> WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT FOR HARRIS VERSUS BIDEN IN TUESDAY'S IN PARTICULAR, THAT'S NEVADA AND NORTH CAROLINA. GEORGIA WOULD BE A CLOSE THIRD. I THINK IT SPEAKS TO THE FACT SHE'S DOING DRAMATICALLY BETTER WITH HISPANIC VOTERS, SHE'S STILL NOT AT 2020 LEVELS OF BIDEN, HARRIS SUPPORT, AND THAT HAS SHIFTED THE DIAL A BIT IN NEVADA. SHE'S ALSO ENERGIZED BLACK VOTERS, WHO ARE 20% OF THE ELECTORATE. THE GOVERNOR'S RACE IN NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH IS GOING BADLY FOR REPUBLICANS. THE DEMOCRAT, JOSH STEIN HAS OPENED A LEAD, AIRING A LOT OF ADS, FEATURING REPUBLICAN MARK ROBINSON IN HIS OWN EXOTIC WORDS ON WOMEN AND ABORTION, THAT MAY BE HAVING SOME BRAND IMPACT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WRIT LARGE, AND THE RACE IS WITHIN A POINT OR TWO THERE. I STILL THINK THE CLOSEST STATES THAT CONSISTENTLY HAVE BEEN TIED IN THE LAST MONTH, ARE GEORGIA