Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Voting, so easy, cavemen do it

FAITH-BASED VOTING

Mike Huckabee benefited from a strong turnout of born-again evangelical Christians in Virginia’s primary. Four in 10 Virginia Republican voters were born-again evangelical Christians, and they strongly supported Huckabee over Sen. John McCain.

Huckabee won the votes of two-thirds of Virginia Republicans who said they were looking for a candidate who shared their values.

WHO’S CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH?

Seven in 10 voters in Virginia’s Republican primary called themselves conservatives. Mike Huckabee won half of their votes, including two- thirds of those who called themselves “very conservative.”

McCain won the votes of two-thirds of moderates in Virginia. McCain and Huckabee split the votes of those who called themselves “somewhat conservative” in Virginia.

About half of Republican voters in Virginia said McCain’s policies were not conservative enough.

THE LIMBAUGH EFFECT

Republican voters in Virginia who said they listened to conservative talk radio were more likely to vote for Huckabee, while non-listeners were more likely to support McCain. The more often people listened to conservative talk radio, the less likely they were to vote for McCain.

RACE AND GENDER

In the Virginia Democratic primary, Sen. Barack Obama won among both men and women, even winning among white men. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton took her base, white women, by an unusually small margin compared to many previous states. Obama and Clinton tied among whites overall in Virginia, giving Obama one of his best showings yet among white voters and marking the first time he has beat Clinton among white men in a Southern state. Obama won the votes of nine in 10 blacks.

THE YOUTH VOTE

Obama won the votes of three-quarters of Virginia Democrats under age 30. He did better than Clinton in nearly every age group, although Clinton had stronger support among older voters. The two candidates were about even among senior citizens. Obama won the votes of six in 10 white voters under age 50, while Clinton won six in 10 white voters over age 50.

READY TO MAKE HISTORY

As they helped decide whether their party will nominate the first woman or first black for president, more than eight in 10 voters in the Maryland and Virginia Democratic primaries said the country is ready to elect a black or female president.

Democratic voters in Virginia were a little more likely than their counterparts in Maryland to say the country “definitely” was ready for a black or female president, rather than just “probably” ready. Those few Virginia Democrats who said the country wasn’t ready for a black president voted 2-to-1 for Clinton, while those who said the country wasn’t ready for a female president voted 8-in-10 for Obama.

Blacks in Virginia were a little less likely than whites there to say the country is ready to elect a female president.

THE ECONOMY

Voters in both parties in both states most often picked the economy as the most important issue facing the country. Democrats and Republicans had very different views about the condition of the national economy. Four in 10 Republicans in Virginia and Maryland said the economy was still in good shape, while nine in 10 Democrats in both states said the economy was in bad shape.

In Virginia, McCain and Huckabee were about even among voters most concerned about the economy and terrorism, while McCain won among those voters who cared about the war in Iraq. Huckabee won among voters most concerned about illegal immigration. Among Democrats, Obama easily bested Clinton among voters most concerned about the economy and about the war in Iraq. Clinton did best among voters who were most concerned about health care, but even there she didn’t do well enough on the issue with Virginia voters to beat Obama.

FIRST TIME VOTERS

More than one-third of voters in the Virginia Democratic primary said they had not voted in a primary before, as did almost one in five voters in the Maryland Democratic primary. In Virginia, first-time voters were supporting Obama over Clinton in similar proportions to experienced voters.

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From partial samples conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in 30 precincts each in Maryland and Virginia for The Associated Press and television networks. Sample sizes: Maryland Democratic 790; Maryland Republican 439; Virginia Democratic 864; Virginia Republican 461.

(AP)