Pennsylvania Exit Polls Hit the Net; 2008 Pennsylvania Primary

The Pennsylvania primary exit polls have begun to emerge in the contest between Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (I-IL), with popular news website The Drudge Report leading the way.

With an estimated 60% of the turnout being female voters, in addition to a high turnout among older voters, it appears that Sen. Hillary Clinton holds the edge among the Pennsylvania demographics showing up to vote.

As expected, Sen. Barack Obama holds a sizable advantage among African-American voters (92% to 8%) and is leading among men by six points (53% to 47%) in early exit polls. On the other side, Sen. Hillary Clinton holds a 20-point advantage among white Pennsylvanian voters (60% to 40%) and an 11-point edge among women voters (55% to 44%). She is expected to carry the over-50 vote, as well, though accurate exit poll data was not immediately available for the age bracket.

Preliminary exit polls also suggest "few last-minute deciders," according to data released by ABC News. The same data suggests that a majority of voters (six in 10) had decided whom to support more than a month ago, with 8 of 10 decided more than a week ago.

The polls also suggest that 10% of Pennsylvania primary voters changed their party registration in order to vote in the closed Democratic primary.

In addition to voter response to the candidates, general opinion was also collected. In it, voters expressed a lack of confidence in the national economy, with more than 80% believing the economy to be in a "serious" or "moderate" recession. According to ABC News, voters in the Pennsylvanian exit poll also cite the candidate who "can bring about needed change" as the top quality they are looking for.

When asked about the Democratic primary as a whole, more than half of the respondents reported a feeling of "negative tone" to the proceedings. A majority of respondents assign the blame for campaign negativity to Sen. Hillary Clinton; "two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters" believe that Sen. Clinton attacked Sen. Obama unfairly, while nearly a half of all voters believe that Sen. Obama unfairly attacked Sen. Clinton. This is in keeping with earlier exit polls from prior primaries, in which more voters saw Sen. Clinton as having unfairly attacked Sen. Obama, though the perception between the two candidates' unfair attacks has tightened.

The Drudge Report estimates a final tally of Sen. Clinton with 52% versus her challenger, Sen. Obama, receiving 48% of the vote.

Gary Langer, "EXIT POLLS: Negative Tone Tarnishes Dems," ABC News
David Espo and Beth Fouhy, "Democrats Clinton, Obama collide in Pennsylvania Primary," MyWay/Associated Press
Matthew Drudge, "DRUDGE REPORT 2008," DrudgeReport.com