DIVIDED BY RACE, GENDER

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won the support of her base in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. She won among white women and older voters in those states, while Senator Barack Obama won his usual strong victory among blacks. White men have been a key swing group in this year’s Democratic primaries. Clinton won the white men in Ohio, tied with Obama for their votes in Texas and came close in Rhode Island.

VERMONT IS OBAMA COUNTRY, SMALLEST STATE GOES TO CLINTON

Obama’s easy victory in Vermont contrasted with the closer races in Ohio, and Texas. Obama’s strong showing in Vermont cut across numerous groups that Clinton usually wins, including whites, older people and women. Obama won the votes of 56 per cent of women in Vermont, 60 per cent of whites, and 58 per cent of those over 60 years old. He won the votes of 64 per cent of men there. Clinton’s victory in Rhode Island was also a contrast. There, she won seven in 10 white women and tied Obama among white men. She won all but the youngest voters and even won among college graduates, a group that has favored Obama in recent contests.

MCCAIN MAKES INROADS WITH EVANGELICALS

38 per cent of voters in the Ohio Republican primary and 47 per cent of voters in the Texas Republican primary were white, evangelical Christians, and Senator John McCain ran close to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee among those voters. Evangelicals have been the base of support for Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister. While McCain did better than he has in the past among conservatives, he still has a problem there. Huckabee won among the most conservative voters in Texas, but McCain was able to narrowly win their votes in Ohio.

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