Musings on IA, NH; Return of the Jeff Scott Show

First, due to a minor surgery the Jeff Scott Show will not return this week.  We will return to the air after I return from a trip to South Carolina following the Republican candidates leading up to their January 19 primary.  The first show back will be Wednesday, January 23.  Remember that this semester, the final semester for the Jeff Scott Show on Mercer Radio, we will air every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 11am-1pm.

 

Now, I have to admit I have been surprised by the collapse of Hillary Clinton in the Democrat nomination process.  I am not, however, surprised that she has appeared to make a comeback in New Hampshire, in which she currently has a 39-36% lead with 66% of precincts reporting (and apparently the AP just called the race for the Hildebeast).  The Democrat gender gap is strongly in Clinton's favor--in NH, 57% of the voters were female, and Clinton won 47-34 (over Obama) among women.  Obama won a 12-point victory over Clinton among men.  Strange happening, however:  Obama beat Clinton by one point among unmarried voters.

 

Of course, the thing to remember when looking at these exit poll numbers is that independents have had a very strong influence on the New Hampshire primary.  44% of New Hampshire voters are registered independents, so there is a large possibility of ideological cross-over voting.  Obama won by 12 points among independents, Hillary by 11 among Democrats.

 

One thing I want to point out from the Republican side is that 52% of Republican voters polled want the next President to be more conservative than President Bush.  To me, this is the defining issue of the Republican campaign, and nobody can deliver.  Some other tidbits:  48% of Republicans support deportation for illegal immigrants, a group that voted 39-25 for Romney over McCain.  Romney is being hurt by the Mormon issue:  He lost to McCain in among the 67% of voters who believe that a candidate's religion matters.  Just a few things I found interesting about the exit polling data.

 

Again, I'll be back on the air on Wednesday, January 23 at 11am, when I will fully analyze the race to that point, including Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina for the Republicans.  I should have special focus on South Carolina, since I will be travelling to that state to observe the goings-on there.