Exit Polls From Louisiana

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Unlike Nebraska and Washington, Louisiana has some exit polls. Here’s what they say on the Democratic side:

Women were a huge percentage of the vote today — 57 percent. Yet, women went for Obama, 54 percent to 45 percent. Obama won every age group except the over-60s, and he did so by very substantial margins.

Folks who make less than $50,000/year went for Obama 54-44. Folks who make more than $50,000/year went for Obama 55-44. There is a saying I’ve heard that suggests Clinton has “50-50 voters”: if you are over 50 years old or you make less than $50,000/year, you’ll vote for Clinton. In Louisiana, at least, that’s half wrong.

White voters (50 percent of the electorate) went for Clinton 69 percent to 28 percent. Black voters (44 percent of the electorate) went for Obama 86 percent to 14 percent. That’s a pretty stark racial divide. Funny enough, though, 77 percent of voters said that race was “not important” when they decide whom to vote for.

Almost half of voters say the economy is the most important issue. Roughly 30 percent said Iraq, and just over 20 percent said health care. These numbers are not matched on the Republican side. There, 33 percent said they prioritize the economy, 21 percent said illegal immigration, 21 percent said terrorism, and 20 percent said Iraq. That would imply that national security issues top the economy as the most important issue. Defying conventional wisdom, however, terrorism voters went for Huckabee while Iraq voters went for McCain. Maybe some folks think a President Huckabee could convince God to stop terrorist missiles in mid air.

Speaking of the Republicans, there’s a divide in their party, too. Evangelical voters in Louisiana (56 percent of the electorate tonight) went 58-28 for Huckabee. Non-evangelical voters (44 percent of the electorate) were exactly the opposite, 58-28 for McCain. Oh, and here’s another clear dividing line: moderates and folks calling themselves “somewhat conservative” went for McCain. Folks calling themselves “very conservative” went for Huckabee. This McCain fellow has got some work ahead of him.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate