PPP's post debate snap poll in the critical swing state of Colorado finds a narrow victory for Barack Obama, 48/44. Perhaps more importantly independents think that the President won by a 58/36 margin.
The debate enhanced both candidates' images with Colorado voters. 40% now say they have a more positive opinion of Obama than they did before the debate, to 36% who see him less favorably. Mitt Romney actually does slightly better on that front with 44% of voters saying they see him more positively now to 35% with a less charitable opinion.
The debate isn't likely to make a big difference in the state of the race in Colorado. 37% of voters say it made them more likely to vote for Obama, 36% say it made them more likely to vote for Romney, and 27% say it didn't make a difference to them either way. We will continue calling Colorado voters on Wednesday and then release a full Presidential poll for the state on Thursday.
Obama was overwhelmingly seen as the winner of the debate among Hispanic voters (61/32) and lost just narrowly to Romney among whites (47/45). Obama was seen as a narrow victor among men (48/43) and women (49/46) alike.
One interesting thing we did was break down the results based on what channel people had watched the debate on. Predictably Fox News viewers (65/27) overwhelmingly thought Romney won, while MSNBC watchers (71/27) believe Obama was the winner. In addition to MSNBC, people who watched the debate on CNN, CBS, NBC, and PBS declare Obama to have been the winner. Beyond Fox News, voters who watched the debate on ABC, the Fox Network, and C-Span (very small sample size on that one) think Romney was the winner.
Time will tell whether this debate actually reversed the momentum in the race. But Obama's victory tonight, even if it wasn't an overwhelming one, should at least halt Romney's momentum in the race and that was something he desperately needed.
Full results here
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