Palpable excitement and anxiety fell over a Hillary Clinton watch party in Durango on Monday night as the Democrat was expected to meet expectations in the first presidential debate against Republican Donald Trump.
As the debate progressed, an ease fell over the crowd of about 50 in the Underground at the Irish Embassy Pub, with Clinton supporters expressing relief and joy that the former secretary of state was calmly withstanding and countering attacks.
“I was afraid that she was going to get down and dirty, I’m very relieved that she remained presidential,” said Kathleen Adams, a Clinton supporter and volunteer.
Jean Walter, chairwoman of La Plata County Democrats, added, “She was presidential, she was persistent, she was respectful, she followed the rules of the debate.”
Local Republicans did not plan a watch party in Durango to offer a comparison. But the Trump campaign in Colorado quickly reacted after the debate, suggesting that the Republican not only won, but also highlighted Clinton’s failures.
“She is only promising more of the same failed policies of the last eight years that have left our nation less prosperous, less safe and less free,” said Robert Blaha, a former U.S. Senate candidate who now serves as Trump Colorado chairman.
“The contrast tonight between Donald Trump’s strong leadership and Hillary Clinton’s dishonesty and pandering could not be clearer,” added Patrick Davis, a Trump Colorado senior advisor. “Donald Trump won tonight’s debate by proving he is the only true candidate of change in this election.”
Pressure was on Clinton, with political observers suggesting that the debate was hers to lose. Before the debate, Democrats called it a “double standard” to suggest that the weight would fall on her shoulders.
“That Hillary has got to somehow display a different type of persona, likability in some way, or else she’s going to lose, that’s ridiculous,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper, who made the short list for Clinton’s running mate and is mentioned as a possible Cabinet member.
Hickenlooper said Trump tapped into frustration in America, with many Americans angry over job loss and other factors.
“That frustration is going to at least push many of them to the biggest change person they can come up with, even if that person is Donald Trump, who is the most absurd con job since the Trojan horse,” Hickenlooper added.
The debate could serve as a pivotal election moment, as the candidates battle to persuade millions of undecided voters.
Hickenlooper and other Clinton supporters, however, believe the race will shift several more times in either direction over the course of the next six weeks.
A new CNN/ORC poll released Monday has Clinton and Trump in a statistical tie in battleground Colorado. Likely voters break 42 percent for Trump, 41 percent for Clinton, 13 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 3 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
But a more state-specific poll released last week by Colorado Mesa University and Rocky Mountain PBS gives Clinton a 9-point advantage over Trump, which shrinks to a 7-point advantage when all four major candidates are included.
The Clinton campaign in Colorado says polling has not impacted strategy, which is relying heavily on activating a Democratic network for canvassing and phone banking.
Republicans, however, say Trump’s advantage is his ability to connect with voters.
Travis Oliger, chairman of La Plata County Republicans, was an early Trump supporter, though he cast his support for Ted Cruz at the April state convention because the majority of his constituents were in the Cruz camp.
Oliger said Trump’s success is that he has largely run outside the party.
“I’ve just been impressed by the fact that nobody but the people have supported him,” Oliger said of Trump. “He’s not getting support from either party – it was just the people.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
