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How and why New Mexico voted

By Associated Press
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Here are some of the highlights from exit polling conducted for the Associated Press and TV networks in the New Mexico presidential caucus Tuesday:

Clinton's strengths

A strong majority of Hispanics favored Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama. Nearly three-fifths of Hispanic women and a majority of Hispanic men backed her. Her support among New Mexico Hispanics wasn't quite as strong as among Hispanics in the 15 other states with Democratic exit polls, which included California, Colorado and Arizona.

Obama's strengths

Obama led among a majority of non-Hispanic white voters regardless of gender. He did better among men, but a slim majority of white women also supported Obama. That wasn't the case in other states, where exit polls showed a majority of whites backed Clinton.

Ideology

Nearly three-fifths of liberal Democrats backed Obama, and they accounted for a majority of caucus voters. Clinton had the support of a majority of self-described moderates, who accounted for a third of caucus- goers.

Issues

About two-fifths of voters picked the economy as the most important issue facing the country, when given three choices. Clinton was the favorite among those voters. More than a third said the Iraq war was the top issue, and Obama led among that group. Health care was a distant third, and those voters were split between the candidates.

Economy

Nine in 10 caucus voters consider the nation's economy in poor or not so good condition.

Family finances

A fourth of caucus-goers said their family was falling behind financially. About three-fifths said their family's financial situation was holding steady.

Immigration

A majority of voters said most undocumented immigrants working in the United States should be offered a chance to apply for citizenship. One in three said they should be allowed to stay as temporary workers. About one in 10 caucus voters said most undocumented immigrants should be deported.

Unity

Almost a quarter of Clinton supporters said another candidate, mainly Obama and John Edwards, would be more likely to bring the country together. But just one in 10 Obama voters said another candidate would be better.

Commander in chief

Nearly a fourth of Obama's supporters said another candidate was best qualified to become commander in chief, with most of them picking Edwards and then Clinton.

Religion

A majority of Catholics supported Clinton. They accounted for nearly a third of caucus voters. Protestants and other Christians split between the candidates.

Time of decision

Almost a quarter of voters said they decided Tuesday or in the last three days whom to vote for. They split among Obama and Clinton.

Kennedy factor

Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy's endorsement provided a boost for Obama. More than two-fifths of voters said the endorsement was very or somewhat important in their vote. Of those, Obama was the clear favorite.

Source: Results were from interviews of 905 Democratic primary voters conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in 20 precincts across New Mexico on Tuesday. Margin of sampling error plus or minus 5 percentage points. The sample did not include anyone who voted early or absentee.