PROVIDENCE, R.I.—New York Sen. Hillary Clinton snapped her losing streak Tuesday in Rhode Island by rallying women, people worried about the economy and Roman Catholics to soundly defeat Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, according to an exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.
Most voters said gender was not an important factor in the race. But women made up about 57 percent of voters in the Democratic primary, and two-thirds supported Clinton. Her margin was even wider among white women.
More than half of the 964 voters in the survey identified the economy as the most important issue facing the country, a group that favored Clinton and dwarfed those who picked the Iraq war and health care coverage.
Financial worries appeared widespread, although they varied in intensity. More than three-quarters of voters said they were worried about their family's financial situation in the coming year, while better than nine in 10 called the economy "not so good" or poor.
Louis Albino, 53, voted at a polling station in a Pawtucket high-rise for Clinton because he fears a sinking economy could hurt low-income workers and single-parent families. The disabled electrician called Clinton the best advocate for the working poor. He said jobs were easier to find when her husband was president.
"She's a very articulate lady when it comes to the rights for the poor," Albino said. "You can't really go out there and get a job."
Clinton also appeared to defeat Obama among the independents crucial for political victory in Rhode Island. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Rhode Island more than three to one, although voters who are unaffiliated outnumber them both combined.
Rhode Island is the most heavily Roman Catholic state in the country and Clinton scored an overwhelming victory among this group. More than half of voters in the Democratic primary called themselves Catholic, and they went for Clinton two-to-one over Obama.
Clinton won every age group in Rhode Island older than 30, a slice of the electorate that represented more than four out of five voters. Obama fared best among voters aged 18 to 29, who appeared to turn out in larger numbers than in 2004 and 2000 and among those who opposed the Iraq War.
The generational split was noticeable in some families. In Pawtucket, Paula Allard, 53, arrived at a polling station with her 18-year-old son, Ben, who was voting in his first election.
Allard said she backed Clinton mostly based on the senator's personality.
"I think she'd be a strong leader," Allard said. "I think she can stand up to people. She wouldn't buckle."
Her son, Ben, said he wanted a "quick exit strategy out of Iraq" and voted for Obama. He fears being drafted into the armed forces if the conflict in Iraq continues. He also hoped that Obama could change the nation's political culture.
"I think it's about time for a change -- a black president," the younger Allard said.
Results were from interviews of 964 Democratic primary voters conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in 20 precincts across Rhode Island on Tuesday. Margin of sampling error plus or minus 5 percentage points. There were not enough interviews to publish the results from an exit poll of Republican voters.
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Methodology details: http://surveys.ap.org/exitpolls/feb5method.html
