Exit polls: Obama gains with whites

updated 1:45 a.m. ET Feb. 6, 2008

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama grabbed an edge among white men and led with black, young and higher-income voters in early national exit polls on Tuesday. White women rallied behind Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also got a boost from Hispanics and people seeking an experienced candidate.

On the Republican side, preliminary data from exit polls of voters in 16 states showed Sen. John McCain getting broad support, including strong backing from moderates and people valuing experience and leadership. He and Mitt Romney were battling for an edge among party regulars, while Romney had an advantage with the GOP's most conservative voters, people seeking a strong stance against illegal immigrants, and those satisfied with the status of the economy and the war in Iraq.

Obama was getting support from about half of white men, giving him a slight edge over Clinton with a group whose support had mostly eluded him this year. Former Sen. John Edwards' decision to leave the Democratic race last week may have helped Obama with white males, who made up more than a quarter of Tuesday's Democratic voters from coast to coast, preliminary exit polls showed.

At the same time, more than four in 10 women and about the same number of whites also were supporting Obama. That represented a gain for the Illinois senator from most of the previous Democratic nominating contests this year, though he still trailed Clinton by almost 10 percentage points in both categories, a significant gap in a two-person race.

"I think Obama can bring a more radical change," said Linda Ster, 44, a social worker in Nashville, Tenn. "I have voted for a Clinton already. I want something different — way different — this time."

The bulk of Obama's white support was coming from those under age 45 — especially those younger than 30 — a group he was dominating overall in Tuesday's contests.

Countering that, Clinton had the support of almost six in 10 white women, giving her a muscular 20 percentage point edge with them. White women comprised more than one-third of Democratic voters Tuesday.

Democrats' racial differences
Obama was getting the backing of eight in 10 blacks, about his usual margin. But Clinton, a New York senator, was countering with strong support from Hispanics, about six in 10 of whom were supporting her. Much of that strength came from Hispanic women and from the oldest Latino voters.

Clinton also was favored by older voters, with those over 65 giving her most of their votes, and had a clear lead with lower educated and low-income people.

Underscoring the state-by-state differences in Tuesday's races, Clinton and Obama were about even among California's whites, while she had leads of nearly 20 percentage points among whites in more conservative Georgia and Missouri. Obama trailed slightly among men in Tennessee but led by a wide margin with them in Delaware.

In the GOP, Romney, McCain and Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee were about even in California among white born-again and evangelical Christians, while Huckabee easily won that group in Alabama. McCain and Huckabee split among Oklahoma voters calling themselves Republicans, while McCain won that same group by huge margins in more moderate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Nationally, Obama was leading with liberals, while Clinton had a slight advantage with moderate Democrats. Liberals outnumbered moderates by about a five-to-four margin in Tuesday's Democratic voting.

Change is a popular desire
About half of Democrats across the country said they want a candidate who will change things. As usual Obama was that group's overwhelming favorite, getting about seven in 10 of their votes. About one-fourth preferred experience, and Clinton was garnering virtually all of their votes.

Half of Democrats named the economy as the country's top issue. Of that group, Clinton was favored slightly. She also led with those citing health care, while Obama had an advantage with people most concerned about the war in Iraq.

In a sign of McCain's broad support, he had an edge over his GOP rivals among men, older voters, veterans and Hispanics, according to preliminary national figures from exit polls. He also led among people saying they are somewhat conservative, Republicans who disapprove of the way the war in Iraq is going, and those who were not white evangelical or born-again Christians.

"I think he's the guy that can see the big picture," Heather Holliday, 28, a sales executive in Chicago, said of McCain.

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