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Patriot Games
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http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/exit_poll_new_hampshire/2008/01/08/62825.html
Exit Poll: Moderates Help McCain, Women Aid Hillary
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
John McCain's experience, reputation for "straight talk" and appeal among
moderates helped him beat Mitt Romney in New Hampshire's Republican primary,
an exit poll found. Women returned solidly to Hillary Rodham Clinton's side
in the Democratic contest, countering Barack Obama's advantage among the
state's large bloc of independents.
Romney edged out McCain among the half of Republican primary voters who
called themselves conservative, but McCain won more handily among moderates
and the roughly 10 percent who were self-described liberals, according to
preliminary results of surveys conducted for The Associated Press and
television networks.
Given four choices for the most important quality in a presidential
candidate, three in 10 Republican voters said it was that the candidate
"says what he believes" and nearly as many picked "has the right
experience." McCain won about half the votes of both groups.
A third of Republican voters said the top quality was that the candidate
"shares my values," and Romney led among that group but with less than 40
percent support. About 20 percent of these values voters favored Mike
Huckabee.
Huckabee could not repeat his success last week in the Iowa caucuses because
there were far fewer voters in New Hampshire among his strongest groups:
evangelical Christians and those who said it matters a great deal that a
candidate shares their religious beliefs. Romney also beat Huckabee 2-to-1
in New Hampshire among very conservative voters, who had favored Huckabee in
Iowa.
In the Democratic race, Clinton - vying to become the first female
president - won nearly half the women's vote while Obama got only about a
third. In Iowa, Obama had narrowly edged out Clinton among women.
Lower-income voters and senior citizens also favored Clinton. Obama hopes to
become the first black president, but there were few black voters in Iowa or
New Hampshire.
Registered independents, who could choose between the two parties'
primaries, had been seen as a key to victory in both races in New Hampshire
but they were more of a factor on the Republican side. Early exit poll data
indicated six in 10 independents opted for the Democratic contest and Obama
led among them, but Clinton's advantage among women offset that. A third of
Republican primary voters called themselves independent, and McCain easily
outpaced Romney among them.
Voters apparently believed McCain and Clinton performed well in debates the
weekend before the primary. Among the 40 percent of Republican primary
voters who called recent debates very important to their vote, four in 10
supported McCain and fewer than three in 10 backed Romney. Clinton did as
well as McCain on that score on the Democratic side, where nearly half of
voters called recent debates very important to their vote.
Obama was even stronger in New Hampshire than in Iowa among the youngest
voters, winning two-thirds of those age 18-24. But Clinton and John Edwards
fared much better among 25- to 29-year-olds in New Hampshire than in Iowa,
where more than half of them backed Obama.
Immigration brought out sharp contrasts in the Republican race.
Three in 10 GOP primary voters would offer illegal immigrants a chance at
citizenship and more than half of them supported McCain, who had plummeted
in preprimary polls last summer for supporting that idea. Nearly a quarter
favored allowing illegal immigrants to stay as temporary workers and McCain
narrowly prevailed among them over Romney, who has taken a tougher line and
attacked McCain on the issue. But McCain lagged well behind Romney among the
nearly half of Republican voters who said illegal immigrants should be
deported.
McCain also found greater support among GOP voters who disapprove of the war
in Iraq. Romney and McCain ran about even among the six in 10 who approve
the war.
The results are from exit polls Tuesday in 50 precincts around New Hampshire
for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research
and Mitofsky International. The Democratic primary survey interviewed 1,800
voters, the Republican primary poll 1,301. The sampling error margin was
plus or minus 4 percentage points for each exit poll.
Exit Poll: Moderates Help McCain, Women Aid Hillary
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
John McCain's experience, reputation for "straight talk" and appeal among
moderates helped him beat Mitt Romney in New Hampshire's Republican primary,
an exit poll found. Women returned solidly to Hillary Rodham Clinton's side
in the Democratic contest, countering Barack Obama's advantage among the
state's large bloc of independents.
Romney edged out McCain among the half of Republican primary voters who
called themselves conservative, but McCain won more handily among moderates
and the roughly 10 percent who were self-described liberals, according to
preliminary results of surveys conducted for The Associated Press and
television networks.
Given four choices for the most important quality in a presidential
candidate, three in 10 Republican voters said it was that the candidate
"says what he believes" and nearly as many picked "has the right
experience." McCain won about half the votes of both groups.
A third of Republican voters said the top quality was that the candidate
"shares my values," and Romney led among that group but with less than 40
percent support. About 20 percent of these values voters favored Mike
Huckabee.
Huckabee could not repeat his success last week in the Iowa caucuses because
there were far fewer voters in New Hampshire among his strongest groups:
evangelical Christians and those who said it matters a great deal that a
candidate shares their religious beliefs. Romney also beat Huckabee 2-to-1
in New Hampshire among very conservative voters, who had favored Huckabee in
Iowa.
In the Democratic race, Clinton - vying to become the first female
president - won nearly half the women's vote while Obama got only about a
third. In Iowa, Obama had narrowly edged out Clinton among women.
Lower-income voters and senior citizens also favored Clinton. Obama hopes to
become the first black president, but there were few black voters in Iowa or
New Hampshire.
Registered independents, who could choose between the two parties'
primaries, had been seen as a key to victory in both races in New Hampshire
but they were more of a factor on the Republican side. Early exit poll data
indicated six in 10 independents opted for the Democratic contest and Obama
led among them, but Clinton's advantage among women offset that. A third of
Republican primary voters called themselves independent, and McCain easily
outpaced Romney among them.
Voters apparently believed McCain and Clinton performed well in debates the
weekend before the primary. Among the 40 percent of Republican primary
voters who called recent debates very important to their vote, four in 10
supported McCain and fewer than three in 10 backed Romney. Clinton did as
well as McCain on that score on the Democratic side, where nearly half of
voters called recent debates very important to their vote.
Obama was even stronger in New Hampshire than in Iowa among the youngest
voters, winning two-thirds of those age 18-24. But Clinton and John Edwards
fared much better among 25- to 29-year-olds in New Hampshire than in Iowa,
where more than half of them backed Obama.
Immigration brought out sharp contrasts in the Republican race.
Three in 10 GOP primary voters would offer illegal immigrants a chance at
citizenship and more than half of them supported McCain, who had plummeted
in preprimary polls last summer for supporting that idea. Nearly a quarter
favored allowing illegal immigrants to stay as temporary workers and McCain
narrowly prevailed among them over Romney, who has taken a tougher line and
attacked McCain on the issue. But McCain lagged well behind Romney among the
nearly half of Republican voters who said illegal immigrants should be
deported.
McCain also found greater support among GOP voters who disapprove of the war
in Iraq. Romney and McCain ran about even among the six in 10 who approve
the war.
The results are from exit polls Tuesday in 50 precincts around New Hampshire
for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research
and Mitofsky International. The Democratic primary survey interviewed 1,800
voters, the Republican primary poll 1,301. The sampling error margin was
plus or minus 4 percentage points for each exit poll.
