Poll: Nearly three-fourths of voters plan to watch Tuesday debate

Almost 3 in 4 registered voters say they plan to tune in to the first presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday night, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.

The survey found that 74 percent of respondents plan to watch the debate moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, including 78 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents.

Monmouth also found that despite the high number of potential viewers from all political stripes, just 3 percent say they are likely to change their minds about their vote based on anything said by the two candidates.

“These results underscore the fact that the audience for these debates are voters who already have a rooting interest in one side or the other. The spin and media framing after the fact is more important for potentially moving the small group of persuadable voters who remain,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said Monday upon the poll’s release.

The debate is expected to draw somewhere in the 80 million to 90 million range in terms of viewers.

The first debate between Trump and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton drew 84 million, making it the most-watched presidential debate of all time.