Yesterday, the key was November
Electability was the watchword. New Hampshire voters most eager for a candidate capable of defeating President Bush in November broke heavily in favor of Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts in the Democratic primary yesterday, according to early exit polls.
The survey showed that Kerry won the support of more than half of voters who said beating Bush was the most important quality in a presidential candidate.
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, by contrast, took just 14 percent of those voters even as he won a plurality of those who said they voted on the basis of agreeing with a candidate on issues.
Democrat Robert Chase, 66, of Bedford, was typical of the trend, saying, "I toyed with the others, but [Kerry] can beat Bush."
Despite an effort to soften his image in the final days of the race -- including appearances with his politics-averse wife, Dean apparently was unable to shake questions about his temperament. More than one-third of voters said Dean did not have the temperament to be president.
Reflecting the fluid nature of the race and the candidates' momentum coming out of the Iowa caucuses, one-third of voters questioned said they made their pick in the last three days of the campaign, and more than half in the final week.
Among those voters, Kerry enjoyed a significant edge, the polls showed. Many Dean supporters, by contrast, had settled on him as their pick more than a month ago, when he was still basking in the glow of big-name endorsements from former vice president Al Gore and former US senator Bill Bradley, and before his post-caucuses pep rally, which some voters have said appeared overly exuberant.
The war in Iraq weighed less heavily on minds of New Hampshire voters yesterday than did health care and the economy -- a factor that cut against Dean, who made opposition to the war a signature issue. In the final days before the primary, Dean escalated his criticism of Kerry for voting in favor of the congressional resolution to go to war.
Still, even among almost two-thirds of voters who said they disapproved of the war in Iraq, Dean had no signficant advantage, pulling in 30 percent compared with Kerry's 40 percent.
Dean also got less of a bump than he had hoped from first-time primary voters whom he had targeted and banked on to give him an edge. Exit polls showed Dean took 29 percent and Kerry took 35 percent of these voters.
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina seemed to enjoy the greatest crossover appeal in the contest, which permitted both Democrats and independents to vote. He drew 49 percent of his support from independents compared with 48 percent from Democrats. In contrast, Dean drew 55 percent of his support from Democrats and 44 percent from independents; Kerry drew 51 percent from Democrats and 46 percent from independents.
Edwards also seemed to impress voters as a positive and empathetic candidate, winning high marks from voters for both qualities.
Retired General Wesley K. Clark appeared to resonate strongly with voters with a military background. Though he finished well below Kerry and Dean, 52 percent of Clark's voters described theirs as military households.
Kerry pulled ahead with voters who described their financial situation as worse than four years ago, taking 40 percent of their votes compared with Dean's 26 percent. At the same time, Kerry did best with the wealthiest voters, winning the support of 40 percent of those who earned $100,000 or more compared with 23 percent for Dean and 18 percent for Edwards.
Among voters who described themselves as union members, Kerry also pulled out a lead, taking 40 percent of these voters compared with 26 percent for Dean, who won several key union endorsements and hoped that would lead to foot soldiers needed to get out the vote.
