Cullman County Democratic Party chair Lance Conn and Alabama Republican party chair John Wahl offered their reactions to the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hosted by ABC News Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Harris began her first face-to-face exchange with Trump by crossing the stage to shake his hand and continued to weave attacks into her responses as the debate wore on.

“I thought she did a good job and was able to explain some of her policies and was able to communicate on a personal level. Partway through the debate I just kind of felt like the former President was just yelling at me. He just seemed angry and like he lost control at certain points,” Conn said.

Harris often played to her middle-class upbringing and offered some insight into her proposed economic policies by highlighting her proposals to reinstate child tax credits and to offer incentives to small business owners and first-time home buyers. But Conn said he would have liked to have heard a few more specific details for those policy proposals. He said he believed voters missed an opportunity to hear those details as Harris was forced to defend against some of Trump’s more outlandish attacks.

“I think, especially when former President Trump is involved, there is this scatter shot effect of these contentious statements like these crazy abortion statements. One of the downsides to that is that one side has to spend more time addressing these crazy facts. But what I heard from Kamala Harris is that she was able to speak personally to Americans and she wants to be a President for all Americans,” Conn said.

Harris made an effort to appeal to fence-straddling Republican voters by praising the late-Senator John McCain and noting the number of high-ranking Republicans who have endorsed her candidacy, most recently former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Wahl said he believe those endorsements have come more as a result of personal vendettas against Trump and that Harris’ policy proposals were more of a ploy to attract moderate voters and questioned whether she would follow through if she were to take the White House in November based on her track record.

“I found it very interesting that many of Kamala Harris’ talking points were much more in line with traditional Republican values than Democrat values. I think it is clear that she knows that the principals of the Republican Party are more popular and successful. The problem with her is that there is a track record,” Wahl said. “Talk is cheap and it’s pretty clear to me that she is presenting a message that will win an election and not her actual values.”

Trump has also softened his stance on several key issues including his promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act and his stance on abortion.

“In the case of Obamacare, it is clear that Donald Trump would like to repeal it completely, but it’s just not practical to get the votes in the House and Senate,” Wahl said. “It’s not necessarily that his message has changed, it’s just that he has to work within the political framework. On the issue of abortion, he has been consistent that it should be returned to the states and it should not be a federal issue. It’s really the same message. His personal stance may be coming out more during this election cycle, but I don’t see that resulting in an actual policy shift in how he would govern.”

Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance has said Trump would not support or sign a federal abortion ban. During the debate Trump said that Vance did not speak for him, but failed to specify whether he would veto a federal ban if he were presented legislation as president.

Conn said he found it difficult to identify any specific policies Trump presented during the debate. He said when the former president did discuss his policy agenda, it was more of a reactionary effort to “save face.”

“I find it really difficult to identify when he is talking about policy, because he gets so caught up in rhetoric,” Conn said. “He talks about these abortion bans, but that led to IVF issues here in Alabama. That was specifically mentioned in the debate and he said that he stepped in. But it seemed like he did so just to fix a problem that he created. That seems to be what happens with former President Trump. He also mentioned how he wanted to try and help in the Middle East, but he even made the statement ‘I got involved with the Taliban.’ Most of the time when he talks about policy, it’s just what he has had to do to fix his own mistakes.”

Wahl said the best way to differentiate between the two candidates was to examine their track records to gain insight into how each may govern as president.

“I think voters need to look at her record. Politicians lie all the time, that’s a fact. What we have to hold them accountable is their track record and how they voted in the past.

It is unclear whether Harris and Trump will face each other during a second debate before the election. Conn said he felt as though time would be better spent on the campaign trail engaging with voters. Wahl said if another debate were to take place he hopes discussions will include parental rights and education.

“I think that’s one of the biggest issues in the county and in Alabama right now. It was a glaring issue that was left out because our children’s education is incredibly important. We should have heard the candidates opinion on that,” Wahl said.

Vice presidential candidates Vance and Tim Walz are scheduled to face-off in a debate hosted by CBS News Oct. 1.