N.H. Dems Give Clinton a Boost

Jan. 8, 2008— -- Democratic Party regulars boosted Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire's primary, balancing another strong draw of independent voters by Sen. Barack Obama.

Mainline Democrats made up more than half of the vote, and they went for Clinton by 44 percent to 36 percent.

While Obama won independents by a wider margin of 45 percent to 30 percent, they accounted for just over four in 10 New Hampshire voters, down from 48 percent in the last primary in 2004, and a high of 50 percent in 1992.

Clinton also proved her strength among women, amid a much larger gender gap than last week in Iowa.

In New Hampshire, Obama won men by a wide 44 percent to 29 percent margin. But Clinton won by 9 points among women. And women, as usual, made up a disproportionately large share of New Hampshire Democratic voters — 57 percent this time.

And among older women, it was no contest. Women over the age of 65 supported Clinton by a huge margin — 57 percent to Obama's 27 percent. Men of that age split evenly between the two.

Men supported Obama in Iowa by 12 points, and women by 5 — a 7-point gender gap. In New Hampshire, it's a 24-point gender gap.

The generation gap was more narrowly focused in New Hampshire than in Iowa. Obama won by a vast 65 percent to 19 percent among the very youngest voters, under 25 years old; but that subsided to a dead heat among those aged 25 to 29. In Iowa, he won both those groups overwhelmingly. At the other end of the spectrum, Clinton won by 10 points among seniors.

As in Iowa, being seen as the agent of change was crucial for Obama. Fifty-five percent said they were most interested in a candidate who can "bring about needed change" — the top attribute by a wide margin — they favored Obama over Clinton by 58 percent to 27 percent. Clinton's pushback on change clearly did not cut.

However, Clinton came back even more overwhelmingly among the two in 10 who said they cared most about experience. And, as in Iowa, Obama showed vulnerability on empathy; among people looking mainly for the candidate who "cares most about people like me," he got only 20 percent support, while Edwards and Clinton were about even at 37 percent and 38 percent, respectively. (Edwards dominated among "empathy" voters in Iowa, rather than splitting them with Clinton here.)