Exit Polls: How Oklahoma Compares
You all know by now that Sen. Barack Obama won the presidency while losing every county in Oklahoma. But the exit polls nationally and the ones specific to the state offer some revealing points about how voters divided over Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain.
The Oklahoma results that I’ve seen don’t have all the detailed information contained in the national questionnaire, but there are some comparisons:
Nationally, Obama got a lot more support from Democratic voters and Independents than he did in Oklahoma.
_ In Oklahoma, 67 percent of Democrats voted for Obama; while, nationally, 89 percent did so. In Oklahoma, 95 percent of Republicans voted for McCain; nationally, 90 percent did so.
Only 59 percent of white Democrats voted for Obama in Oklahoma while, nationally, 85 percent of white Democrats went for Obama.
In Oklahoma, 64 percent of Independents voted for McCain; nationally, 52 percent voted for Obama.
_ In Oklahoma, McCain won every income group except one, those making from $15,000 to $30,000 a year (12 percent of those surveyed at the polls).
Nationally, Obama won four income groups (including those making over $200,000 per year), while McCain won two.
_ In Oklahoma, 36 percent of those polled said they had a college degree, and of those, 69 percent voted for McCain.
Nationally, 44 percent said they had a college degree and 53 percent of those voted for Obama.
_ In Oklahoma, McCain won the urban, suburban and rural areas. Nationally, Obama won all three areas.
_ In Oklahoma, 88 percent of those questioned were somewhat or very worried about the economy. Of those, 65 percent voted for McCain.
Nationally, 85 percent said they were worried about the economy, and of those, 54 percent went for Obama.
_ In Oklahoma, 44 percent approve of the job being done by President Bush. And, of those, 93 percent voted for McCain. Of the 55 percent who disapprove of Bush, 57 percent voted for Obama.
Nationally, 71 percent of people disapprove of Bush and two-thirds of those people voted for Obama.
Here are a couple of general comments gleaned from national results that weren’t available in the Oklahoma-only results:
If you go to church once a week or more, you were more likely to vote for McCain. And if you go only occasionally or never, you were more likely to vote for Obama.
If there is a gun in your household, you were more likely to vote for McCain. And if there’s not, you were more likely to vote for Obama.
If you were worried about health care costs, you were more likely to vote for Obama.
Some other national results that weren’t included in the Oklahoma results I’ve seen:
_ 67 percent of those polled favor offshore drilling where it’s not currently allowed; and 59 percent of those voted for McCain.
_ 56 percent of those polled opposed the $700 billion of the financial industry, and 50 percent of those voted for Obama.
_ 60 percent said they didn’t think Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was qualified to be president.
_ 60 percent said the choice of Palin was a factor in their vote. And, of those, 56 percent voted for McCain.
_ 33 percent said Palin wasn’t a factor in their vote and, of those, 65 percent voted for Obama.
Note that some of the results don’t add up to 100 percent because some people didn’t answer the question.
What conclusions can you draw from these numbers, if any? Looking just at the red and blue areas on maps, it seem easy to make generalizations, but the detailed data makes the national political picture much less clear.
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