Exit Polling Explains Obama Sweep in Virginia; McCain Grappling With Conservatives' Doubt

Barack Obama won the Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday by taking traditional demographic groups supportive of him but also by cutting into Hillary Clinton's core support

FOXNews.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Barack Obama won the Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday by taking traditional demographic groups supportive of him but also by cutting into Hillary Clinton's core support

Meanwhile, conservatives showed their unhappiness with John McCain by overwhelmingly voting for Mike Huckabee in the state's Republican primary.

Among women, typically Clinton's most loyal supporters, Obama picked up 59 percent of the vote. And while voters 65 and older have come out strong for Clinton in other states, in Virginia Obama garnered 52 percent of their vote.

Obama also won the low-income vote -- another category Clinton has typically dominated. Among voters making less than $50,000 a year, Obama took 59 percent of the vote, with 40 percent going for Clinton. He also won high-income Democrats, who have typically fallen in his favor.

Obama closed the margin of white voters in Virginia, taking 50 percent of the vote. Obama also dominated among men, getting support from 65 percent.

Obama also dominated among his other typical supporters, convincingly taking the black vote -- a bloc that makes up almost a third of the state's party -- by 90 percent compared to Clinton's 10 percent.

Young voters came out 75 percent for Obama and 25 percent for Clinton. New voters -- young and old -- went almost 2 to 1 for Obama.

Because Virginians could vote in either primary today, independents played a role for the Democrats and Obama. Sixty-six percent of independents voting in the Virginia Democratic primary voted for him.

Some Democrats are also feeling a bit unenthusastic about Clinton. Most voters said they'd be satisfied with either Democrat, but 34 percent said they would be dissatisfied with Clinton, compared to just 19 percent for Obama.

For Republicans, despite being his party's front-runner for president, John McCain is still struggling to gain support from conservatives, exit polls showed.

More than two-thirds -- 68 percent -- of Republican voters in the Old Dominion said they're conservative. They voted 51 percent for Huckabee and 35 percent for McCain.

Most of these voters said their problem is with the Arizona senator's outlook. Fifty-three percent said he wasn't conservative enough, 41 percent said he was "about right" and just 3 percent said he was too conservative.

Talk radio may be playing a big role -- 62 percent of Republicans said they frequently listen to conservative programs like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Many of those hosts don't endorse McCain, and their fans seem to have followed suit, voting 48 percent for Huckabee and 38 percent for McCain.

Independents continued to support McCain, with 38 percent supporting him, but Huckabee was close behind with 35 percent. 20 percent said they voted for Ron Paul.

Evangelicals continued their support of Huckabee by giving him 61 percent of the vote, with McCain picking up 28 percent.

Voters who said they think the economy is in bad shape backed McCain by 12 percentage points.

For the candidate most qualified to be commander-in-chief, 63 percent of Virginia voters said McCain and 23 percent picked Huckabee.

The FOX News exit poll questioned 1,245 Democratic and 719 Republican voters in Virginia as they were leaving their polling places.

 

RCP Poll

President Obama Job Approval

RCP Average: +7.7% Details
Approve 51.5%
Disapprove 43.8%

Congressional Job Approval

RCP Average: -41.2% Details
Approve 25.5%
Disapprove 66.7%

Direction of Country

RCP Average: -18.5% Details
Right Direction 37.5%
Wrong Track 56.0%