Even before the vice-presidential debate got underway in Virginia, the Republican Party was convinced Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence had won.
So sure, in fact, that they released a short blog post hours before the debate took place declaring Pence the "clear winner of the debate."
The post let voters know that Pence's top moments from the debate included the "economy" and "highlighting Hillary's scandals."
Trump was also heralded as a winner of the vice presidential debate, as "his running mate perfectly shared Trump's vision to make America great again and that message is resonating with Americans all across the country."
Declaring winners after a debate is nothing new. Both parties boasted about their respective presidential candidates after the first debate, with Trump declaring himself the winner.
I won every poll from last nights Presidential Debate - except for the little watched @CNN poll.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2016
However, it is a bit unorthodox to declare a winner before a debate occurs.
The post has since been taken down, but can still be viewed as a cached page.
