Election 2026: Herald experts pick which Chris won the TVNZ Leaders’ Debate

The real winner of the night was 1 News’ panel of undecided voters. They broke 49% for Chris Hipkins, 24% for Christopher Luxon and 27% undecided. There was a point in the night when it was a bit closer, with Hipkins in the 50s and Luxon in the 40s. In my view, this felt about right: Hipkins won, but it was narrow. Luxon is a better campaigner than Hipkins but a worse debater, something New Zealanders are probably familiar with, having witnessed his weekly broadcast interviews and appearances in Question Time. Luxon actually put in a good performance tonight, maybe…