BOSTON—Hillary Rodham Clinton turned back Barack Obama and his high-profile endorsements to win the presidential primary in Massachusetts, while former Gov. Mitt Romney had little trouble defending his home turf against Republican rival John McCain.
The New York senator relied on female voters and rank-and-file lawmakers, who cranked up their get-out-the-vote efforts on Super Tuesday to offset Obama's headline-grabbing endorsements from U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and Gov. Deval Patrick.
Turnout set a new primary election record, surpassing 1980 when more than 1.3 million people voted on a ballot that included Sen. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter on the Democratic side, and Republicans Ronald Reagan and George Bush. On Tuesday, more than 1.6 million votes were cast, with twice as many for Democrats as Republicans.
Romney, criticized for treating Massachusetts as a stepping stone while governor, won his home state by finding favor with voters who support him on immigration and the economy, according to preliminary exit poll results conducted for The Associated Press.
"I have to tell you there was a special feeling in my heart when I realized that the three places Ann and I lived have all voted for us -- Michigan, Massachusetts and Utah," Romney told supporters Tuesday night in Boston.
Romney won 51 percent of the vote, compared to 41 percent for McCain and 4 for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 92 percent of the 2,167 precincts reporting.
On the Democratic side, Clinton had 56 percent of the vote to Obama's 40 percent, with 92 percent of precincts reporting.
Kennedy had summoned memories of his brother the slain president when he endorsed Obama a week ago, and Patrick -- who shared Obama's message of hope when he mustered grassroots support for to win the governor's race -- campaigned hard for his fellow Chicagoan.
"I commend Sen. Clinton, but I'm also very excited about the growing momentum we've seen for the Obama campaign," Kennedy said in a prepared statement.
Patrick congratulated Clinton and said he'll continue to work for Obama.
"This was a great campaign of energy and grassroots excitement for Democrats," the governor said. "It was an exciting, contested campaign in (Massachusetts) and across the country and this bodes well for Democrats in November."
Clinton had the network on the ground to get out the votes, with the support of Senate President Therese Murray, who has suggested Clinton lost key endorsements in part because she's a woman, and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, who is often at odds with Patrick.
Exit polling showed Clinton had strong support among women, lower income and older voters.
"Obama seems like a nice guy, but I'm just worried he doesn't have enough experience to be president," said Bob Poland, 49, a Boston travel agent who cited Clinton's stance on health care and economic issues as his reasons for voting for her.
Massachusetts may seem like the ultimate Democratic stronghold, but the single largest group of voters here are independents, who comprise half the state's 4 million voters and can cast ballots in either party primary. Registered Democrats account for nearly 37 percent and Republicans make up 12 percent.
Romney and his wife, Ann, voted in their hometown of Belmont mid-afternoon then watched returns and rallied supporters at a Boston hotel.
"That's pretty fun. First time I ever voted for myself for president," said Romney, leaving town hall with a souvenir -- a sample ballot.
Topsfield Republican Mary Jordan said she didn't ultimately decide to vote for Romney until she entered the voting booth.
"I think he's the least unlikeable. I really didn't like any of them," said Jordan, a 43-year-old teacher's aide.
Monica Crowley, 40, said she couldn't vote Democratic because she doesn't like talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who supports Obama, and she opposed Clinton's health care plan.
Ultimately, she reasoned that McCain, a staunch supporter of the Iraq war, would actually be most likely to end the conflict because his son, Jimmy, is serving in Iraq.
"I can't believe after what he's been through and having (a son) there that he will allow it to continue," she said of McCain, who won the Massachusetts GOP primary eight years ago.
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Associated Press Writers Jay Lindsay in Topsfield, Denise Lavoie in Whitman, Melissa Trujillo in Boston, Pat Eaton-Robb in Longmeadow, and Glen Johnson in Belmont contributed to this report.
