Rural Miss. voters follow statewide track for Obama; primary results are racially polarized

Barack Obama carried rural and suburban voters by about the same margin in winning Mississippi's Democratic presidential primary tonight, according to the exit poll, conducted for news organizations by the National Election Pool. Mississippi is one of the nation's most rural states, 51 percent rural in the 2000 census. The poll identified 64 percent of voters as rural, 33 percent as suburban and only 3 percent as urban.

Mississippi has a larger share of African Americans than any other state, 37 percent, and they accounted for an even larger share of the electorate; the poll sample was divided evenly between blacks and whites. Obama won only 26 percent of the white vote but 90 percent of the black vote. That was the greatest racial division seen in the contest so far, ABC News reported. The Associated Press said Alabama and Clinton's former home state of Arkansas were as polarized as Mississippi, which borders both.

"The exit polls also indicated roughly 40 percent of Mississippi Democratic voters said race was an important factor in their vote, and 90 percent of those voters supported Obama," CNN reports. Nine percent of voters said race was the most important factor in their vote. Among that group, Obama led 55 to 45 percent, within the margin of error for that small sample. Among the 21 percent who said race was one of several factors for them, Obama got 65 percent. Among the two-third of voters who said race was not a factor, Obama got 57 percent, statistically the same as his 60 percent share of the total vote. (Read more)

Asked the importance of gender, 7 percent said it was the most important factor in their vote. CNN did not provide a breakdown of that small sample. Twenty percent said gender was one of several factors; among that group, Obama got 70 percent of the vote. Among the 70 percent who said gender was not important, he won 55-45. The primary was open, and Republicans accounted for 13 percent of the vote; Clinton carried them overwhelmingly, and those who identified themselves as conservatives. She narrowly won among voters with incomes above $75,000. For the poll results, click here.

Perhaps the most interesting results came when voters for one candidate were asked if they would be satisfied if the other candidate were nominated. CNN's John King said a "stunning" 72 percent of Clinton voters said they would be dissatisfied with Obama as the nominee, while 57 percent of Obama voters said they would not be satisfied with Clinton. "You're beginning to see a polarization within the Democratic electorate as the debate between the candidates gets sharper and sharper," King said.