In First Exit Polls, It's Still the Economy, Stupid: Financial Mess Dominated Voter Concerns
By Helen Kennedy
Daily News Staff Writer
Is Rudy Giuliani still laughing?
Huge numbers of brand new voters flooded to the polls Tuesday—a triumph of organizing for a former community organizer.
The first exit polls showed one in 10 voters were casting their first ballots - and many of those new voters were young and non-white, Barack Obama's strongest supporters.
Obama's campaign spent enormous amounts of time and money to register new voters and convince them to vote. The candidate drew on his background as a community organizer - which Giuliani mocked at the GOP convention.
Six in 10 of the new voters were under 30; one in five was black and one in five was Hispanic, the polling showed.
Overall, one in seven voters were under 30. About as many were over 65.
More than a third of voters said they were looking for a candidate who bring change to Washington, compared to one in five who put a greater premium on experience.
Wallet worries eclipsed every other major issue by giant margins in the election of 2008, the polling showed.
Six in 10 voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the nation.
None of four other choices—Iraq, energy, terrorism and health care—was picked by more than one in 10.
About half the voters interviewed said the economy is in poor shape and and nearly all the rest said it's not good.
About 40% said their family's financial situation has worsened since 2004. Only about a quarter said it's gotten better.
More than half said they opposed the $700 billion government bailout for Wall Street banks.
A third of voters reported household income of less than $50,000; a quarter had more than $100,000.
One in five had only a high school diploma; nearly half had a college degree.
One in four voters was a white born-again evangelical Christian.
Nearly half of voters have a gun in their household.
Click here for the latest election results.
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