What SC voters were thinking when they cast their ballots

Why South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary vote turned out the way it did:

HOME GROWN: John Edwards appealed to voters who felt he was like them. Six of 10 voters said they chose a candidate who agrees with them on major issues. Edwards picked up nearly half of those votes, twice what John Kerry won.

POCKETBOOK ISSUES: Nearly half the voters said they chose based on jobs and economic concerns. Edwards picked up half that vote - twice as many as Kerry. One in five said Medicare and health care were their top concern. Edwards picked up four of 10 of those votes, Kerry picked up one in three.

MODERATES: Four in 10 voters described themselves as political moderates. Edwards picked up half that vote to three of 10 for Kerry .

INDEPENDENTS: Almost one-fourth of the voters were independents. Edwards won half that vote, more than twice as much as Kerry.

VETERANS: Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark were expected to capitalize on the military vote. Both hit the airwaves with ads showing them in uniform and with testimonials to their work. A quarter of Tuesday's voters were veterans. Clark pulled fewer veteran votes than Al Sharpton. Edwards, with no military experience, picked up four of 10 veteran votes to Kerry's three of 10.

IRAQ: While almost three-fourths said they disapprove of the war in Iraq, it was a deciding issue for only about one in 10 voters. One of five voters approved of the war, and Edwards picked up half that vote.

THE INTERNET: Howard Dean's campaign fanned out across the Internet in the early months and his fund-raising knack prompted some to say his efforts could mark a turning point in strategy. Only a quarter of voters said they visited Web sites at least occasionally. Dean pulled less than one in 10 of those voters, a third of Kerry's and a quarter of Edwards'.

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The exit poll was conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International among 2,033 South Carolina Democratic primary voters as they left precincts Tuesday. The poll has a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points for the overall sample, larger for subgroups.