For Obama and Clinton voters, economy dominates
The Democratic candidates await results in close primary races in Indiana and North Carolina, with 187 delegates at stake.
With polls in the last of the delegate-rich states closing, the economy remained the key issue as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama battled to the wire for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Exit polls for the Associated Press and television networks showed that two-thirds of Democratic primary voters in Indiana and nearly the same proportion in North Carolina said the economy is the most important issue facing the nation. The emphasis on the economy has been a continuing refrain during the primaries, but today's numbers are higher.
Four in 10 Indiana Democratic voters said the current slowdown has affected their family a great deal. Nearly as many said that in North Carolina.
The exit poll estimated that blacks made up about a third of voters in the North Carolina Democratic primary, about one in seven in Indiana. More than half of voters in both states were women, which is typical for Democratic primaries.
Indiana's Democratic primary was open to all voters. About one in five said they were independents and one in 10 identified themselves as Republican. North Carolina's Democratic primary was open only to voters registered as Democratic or unaffiliated.
Earlier polls showed Obama ahead in North Carolina, though his lead has narrowed. Clinton was slightly favored in Indiana.
There were 187 pledged delegates at stake in Indiana and North Carolina as record turnouts were expected in both states. But tonight's results will not settle the nomination since neither Obama nor Clinton can reach the number of 2,024 delegates needed for the nomination.
When the day began, Obama had 1,745.5 delegates, to 1,608 for Clinton, according to the Associated Press count. Other tallies have Obama leading but by different numbers. The fight was over 72 delegates in Indiana and 115 in North Carolina.
For Clinton, tonight was one of the continuing make-or-break battles that she has fought in recent weeks as she plays catch-up to Obama. For Obama, tonight was a chance to revive a campaign that appeared stalled after a battle over his former pastor.
Clinton scored a strong victory last month in Pennsylvania and campaigned feverishly in Indiana, hoping to prevent Obama from winning a state next door to his Illinois. Clinton relied on a broad appeal to white working-class males and stressed economic issues.
