Exit Poll: Why Ohioans voted as they didPosted by
http://blog.cleveland.com/openersabout.htmlJohn Seewer/Associated Press March 04, 2008 20:16PM
Highlights from results of exit polling Tuesday in the Ohio primaries for The Associated Press and television networks.
PESSIMISM ABOUT THE ECONOMY
Democrats and Republicans in Ohio alike were worried about the nation's economy. Among voters in the Democratic primary, more said the economy was the most important issue facing the country -- six in 10 -- than in any of the other 25 Democratic primaries with exit polls this year. Nine in 10 said the nation's economy was poor or not good. Republican primary voters were slightly more optimistic, with seven in 10 saying the economy was poor or not good.
FAMILY'S FUTURE
Asked how worried they were about their family's financial situation over the next year, eight in 10 Ohio Democratic primary voters said they were worried and four in 10 said they were very worried. There was more concern about the economy in Ohio, a state that has lost about 200,000 jobs since 2000, than in the other three primary states -- Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.
OTHER ISSUES THAT MATTER
After the economy, Democrats ranked the Iraq war and health care evenly among the most important issue facing the country. Republicans put the economy at the top of the list. They were about even on three others -- illegal immigration, Iraq and terrorism.
BOTH OF THE ABOVE
Ohio's Democrats like both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Seven in 10 said they would be satisfied with Clinton as the nominee and about the same number said they'd be OK with Obama. Slightly more voters thought Obama was more likely to beat the Republican nominee in November. Voters thought Clinton would be a better leader than Obama while they also found him more inspirational.
RACE AND GENDER About one in five voters said that the race of the candidate was an important factor in their vote and about the same number said the gender of the candidate played an important part in their vote.
LOOK WHO'S TALKING
Among Republicans, four in 10 said the views of talk show hosts were important to them. A week ago, Republican John McCain spoke out against a Cincinnati radio talk show host who called Barack Obama a "hack, Chicago-style" politician during one of his rallies.
CONSERVATIVE CREDENTIALS
About half of Ohio Republicans thought McCain's positions on issues were just right while four in 10 thought he wasn't conservative enough. McCain was only about even with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee among very conservative voters. And three in 10 voters said they wouldn't be satisfied with McCain as the nominee.
LATE PUSH
About a quarter of the state's Democrats decided on who to vote for within the last week, slightly less than those who voted in past primaries in Ohio. Three out of four Republicans made their decision more than a month ago.
SUPERDELEGATES
About six in 10 of Ohio's Democratic voters said "superdelegates" -- party leaders and elected officials who get to cast votes at the party nominating convention this summer in Denver -- should vote based on results of the primaries and caucuses rather than for the candidate they think has the best chance to win in November.
Results were from interviews of 1,020 Democratic primary voters and 516 Republican primary voters conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in 40 precincts across Ohio on Tuesday. Margin of sampling error plus or minus 5 percentage points for the Democratic primary and plus or minus 6 percentage points for the Republican primary.
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