Subscribe to this series.

With just over half of the Rep AEI March Political Report

Download PDF ublican contests completed, the March edition of AEI’s Political Report takes a close look at the entrance and exit poll results from the 17 states for which data are available. The report shows in easy-to-read form which candidate won 15 different demographic and issue groups across all the states.

* In every state in which an exit poll was conducted, Republican voters listed the ability to defeat Obama as the candidate quality that mattered most to their vote.

* Romney usually won the votes of those who checked “can defeat Obama” as the most important candidate quality for them. With the exception of Massachusetts, he did not win with those who checked “true conservative” as their priority.

* Tea Party supporters backed the winner in every contest except Ohio, where Santorum edged out Romney by 1 percentage point. Santorum and Gingrich split Tea Party votes in Mississippi.

*  The economy was the top issue for voters everywhere. More than 10 percent of voters in Michigan, Mississippi, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma selected abortion as the top issue. In no state did 15 percent of voters select it as the number-one issue. The exit pollsters asked about illegal immigration in 15 of 17 states, but only in Arizona did more than 10 percent of voters check it as the top issue.