Demographics line up for Clinton
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 7:21 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's AnaMaria Arumi
The demographics of West Virginia’s Democratic primary electorate play to Hillary Clinton’s strengths based on voting patterns in previous contests. Those voting in West Virginia today are predominately white and working class -- like Pennsylvania, but minus that state’s large cities and upscale suburbs.
According to the exit polls, about two-thirds -- 65% -- of all Democratic primary voters today are whites with less than a four-year college degree. That’s by far the highest percentage for any primary state so far. That tops Indiana, Wisconsin, and Arkansas where about half of Democratic primary voters fit this definition of white, working-class voters, historically a strong Clinton group.
West Virginia is also one of the states with a very large percentage of white voters who live in rural areas as opposed to cities or suburbs. Of the primary states that have voted thus far, West Virginia has the second highest percentage of rural whites voting in the Democratic primary. Fifty-five percent of West Virginia voters today are whites, who live in rural communities. That’s more than their share of the Democratic primary electorate in Mississippi and Arkansas, and surpassed only by the New England state of Vermont.
As expected, roughly 95 percent of West Virginia Democratic primary voters were white. Half of voters were from rural areas.
The age distribution of the West Virginia Democratic primary electorate is older than most states. A quarter (26%) of those voting today are seniors, 65 and older. Just 12% of the voters are under 30. This age distribution is similar to what we saw in Pennsylvania three weeks ago. It was one of the oldest electorates among 31 Democratic primaries with exit polls to date, with four in 10 over age 60.
The only other states with somewhat similar numbers were Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma -- and Hillary Clinton won all four states.