West Virginia Exit Poll Peek

By: Vaughn Ververs
Topics: Exit Polls

The polls close at 7:30pm ET in West Virginia but we have our first peek at some of the exit polling results. Most voters made up their minds at some time before last week – a period which has been dominated by talk of Hillary Clinton's ability to continue in the race. Seventy eight percent of voters in the early CBS News exit polls said they had decided who they would be supporting before the past week.

As it has been throughout the primary season, the economy was once again the top issue on the minds of voters, with 64 percent saying so. Eighty eight percent said they had been directly affected by the economic slowdown and 63 percent said they were in favor of proposals to temporarily suspend the gas tax.

Change was the quality voters were looking for most in a candidate, with 48 percent saying so compared to 23 percent who said experience was. Just eight percent said the ability to win in November was the most important quality for them.

There are more signs of a split within the Democratic Party. Just 23 percent of Hillary Clinton voters in West Virginia said they would be satisfied if Barack Obama was the Democratic nominee while 75 percent said they would be dissatisfied – the highest number recorded in exit polls yet. In Indiana, 62 percent of Clinton voters said they would be dissatisfied with Obama as the nominee. Sixty one percent of Obama voters said they would be dissatisfied with Clinton as the nominee while 33 percent said they would be satisfied.

Looking ahead to the general election, 59 percent of Clinton voters say they would either vote for Republican John McCain or not vote at all if Obama is the Democratic nominee. Thirty six percent of Clinton voters said they would vote for Obama while 35 percent said they would vote for McCain and 24 percent said they would sit the election out. Fifty one percent of Obama's voters said they would support Clinton in the general election while 31 percent said they would support McCain and 14 percent would not vote.

Other indicators: Over half, 51 percent, of West Virginia voters said they think Obama shares the views of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Sixty two percent said that Bill Clinton's campaigning in the state was an important factor in their vote. And 70 percent of Clinton voters said they think the race should continue.

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by zavatchen May 14, 2008 3:01 AM EDT: I also am leaving the Democratic Party because of the party leadership that has shown no leadership in dealing with MI and FL, who have allowed the media to control the nominating process, and who have shown no respect.

I also am stunned at the vitriol expressed toward Hillary by the liberal media.

If O''Bama is nominated I will either vote Green or write in Hillary.

I am a white woman, 50''s, three figures, college degree, live in the midwest.

I''''m stunned that so many upscale, well-educated members of Obama''''s base would stoop to negatively stereotyping the entire population of West Virginia and casting slurs against those who support Hillary Clinton. It just seems in poor taste.

By the way, I''''m a long-time resident of Minn., but my parents and grandparents were originally from rural Appalachia. They were FDR Democrats who brought me up to respect the rights of all people regardless of race, gender, ethnic origin or any other category.

I have been deeply offended by the comments of Obama and his supporters about rural people and as a result, I''''m one lifetime Democrat who has decided to withdraw my membership from the Democratic party and register as an independent this time around. The behavior of some Obama supporters has made me ashamed to identify myself as a Democrat.

Oh, and incidentally, I have a master''''s degree.; Reply to this comment


by je00143 May 14, 2008 2:16 AM EDT: While on the treadmill this morning at the gym, I saw a TV interview with a West Virginian voter, a middle-aged white woman. She said that she had voted for Hillary and would not vote for Obama because he was a Muslim.

I''ll bet she was not alone in her thinking, and it points out the things that pollsters noted earlier about West Virginia - miniscule minority population, lower than average income, lower than average education level. QED.; Reply to this comment


by votehillary May 13, 2008 10:09 PM EDT: So far, it looks like Obama hob-nobs with the Hamas and black separatists.

Obama supporters need Hillary''s mainstay democratic base to win - that''s what Obama and his elitist machine won''t acknowledge - they need the support of the working class - which is the majority of the democrats, by-the-way - and they support Hillary Clinton. So - yes we are either sitting it out this fall or selecting someone else with more experience - someone who knows what it takes to keep the country safe - and a speech just isn''t enough to do that.; Reply to this comment


by iequality May 13, 2008 10:03 PM EDT: I''m stunned that so many upscale, well-educated members of Obama''s base would stoop to negatively stereotyping the entire population of West Virginia and casting slurs against those who support Hillary Clinton. It just seems in poor taste.

By the way, I''m a long-time resident of Minn., but my parents and grandparents were originally from rural Appalachia. They were FDR Democrats who brought me up to respect the rights of all people regardless of race, gender, ethnic origin or any other category.

I have been deeply offended by the comments of Obama and his supporters about rural people and as a result, I''m one lifetime Democrat who has decided to withdraw my membership from the Democratic party and register as an independent this time around. The behavior of some Obama supporters has made me ashamed to identify myself as a Democrat.

Oh, and incidentally, I have a master''s degree.; Reply to this comment


by nlefevre-2009 May 13, 2008 9:50 PM EDT: Those are some pretty scary poll results. It''s striking that 63% favor the gas tax holiday gimmick that even the folks of Indiana understood as a fraud on voters. Obviously these are voters that are not paying attention.; Reply to this comment


by susansc2 May 13, 2008 9:20 PM EDT: The primaries have been fascinating, and West Virginia is no exception. Each state has a story to tell.

What the voters of West Virginia seems to be saying is that they do not care if a candidate has chosen to make their state primary a black/white showdown, perhaps unfairly to the voters in the state, and they do not care that their candidate of choice is not necessarily an honest or honorable person. West Virginians are not alone in this - it''s amazing how little impact snipergate has had on many voters.

It''s also amazing how much West Virginia matters to the Clintons, when they chose to ignore many smaller states earlier in the season. I think they''re too late to the dance.; Reply to this comment


by smashwl7 May 13, 2008 8:56 PM EDT: Latest polls suggest that Clinton is picking up support from John McCain%u2019s base which is the following:

White Americans that hate people of color.

White Christians that hate people that do not look like them.

White Americans that have very little education.

White Americans who do not care about their own personal economic condition.
White Americans that want to see the sons die in an un-justifiable war.

White Women who hate man still seams to be Hillary Clinton%u2019s primary support.

The New York Times Op-Ed: By BOB HERBERT

"I don%u2019t know if Senator Obama can win the White House. No one knows. But to deliberately convey the idea that most white people %u2014 or most working-class white people %u2014 are unwilling to give an African-American candidate a fair hearing in a presidential election is a slur against whites."

So what she is saying to all of you is if you are White Trash I am your girl. So vote for me so the South can rise one more time. If I was White I would run as far away from her as a could. This is not the vision for America. Remember everyone she was a Goldwater girl when she was younger.

THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN ACCORING TO HILLARY AND BILL; Reply to this comment