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| SC primary voters concerned about economy, war |
 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Voters preoccupied with concerns about jobs, the economy and health care helped drive John Edwards' victory in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, according to exit polls Tuesday.
Eight of 10 voters in the first-in-the-South contest called the economy poor or not so good and about half said the economy and jobs were their top issues. About two of 10 said they decided who to vote for based on their concerns about health care and Medicare. Seneca native John Edwards, a North Carolina senator, was favored among those voters.
Edwards picked up more than four in 10 votes among those who see a soured economy compared with three in 10 for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Edwards picked up half the votes of people who said the economy and jobs were their top issue, twice as many as Kerry.
Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International conducted the poll of 1,248 voters for The Associated Press and television networks. Results were subject to sampling error of 4 percentage points, higher for subgroups.
Economic concerns have been prominent fixtures on the stump here as shuttered factories became backdrops for candidates talking about factory workers losing jobs to international trade. No one played that more than Edwards, who began airing that message in television ads last summer.
More than half of the voters said that they chose a candidate who agrees with them on major issues. Edwards picked up half of those votes; Kerry won half as many votes among that group.
The war in Iraq was a top concern for only about one of 10 voters, but almost three-fourths said they disapprove of the war.
Early results showed one-fourth of the voters describe themselves as political independents and six in 10 said they were moderates or conservatives. Blacks accounted for nearly half of all voters surveyed.
Voters were split on what they wanted most in candidates. Two in 10 said they wanted someone who "cares about people like me." About the same number said they wanted a candidate who "can defeat George W. Bush."
The state's status as the Bible Belt's buckle was evident, too. More than half the voters said they go to church weekly.
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