MAJORITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS OPPOSE IRAQ WAR: POLL
Early exit polls of people who voted in the New Hampshire Democratic primary showed that two-thirds of them opposed the war in Iraq, making it a possibly potent issue for this fall in the Granite State. Mr. Bush carried the state in 2000, but narrowly.
The 2004 primary appeared to have attracted a heavy number of voters to the polls, which finally closed statewide just minutes ago at 8 p.m. Based on what they told pollsters after casting their ballots, they chose with both their heads and hearts.
"Standing up for what he believes" was the quality that mattered most to about 3 in 10 voters, with the ability to defeat President Bush most important to about 2 in 10.
When the question was put slightly differently — asking voters whether defeating President Bush or agreeing with a candidate on the major issues was more important — more than half the voters said that agreeing with the candidate was more important. Just over a third said the ability to defeat Mr. Bush was more important, while the rest had no answer.
The surveys of voters leaving polling places throughout the state was conducted for the television networks and The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Virtually all the daily tracking polls taken before primary day have shown Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts in position to win.
Still, the unpopularity of the Iraq war, at least among the New Hampshire Democrats and independents motivated enough to vote today, must have heartened former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, who has been trying furiously to narrow the gap between him and Mr. Kerry. But past New Hampshire primaries have punished candidates and prognosticators who were too optimistic too soon, before the people were done voting. |
