Economy, 1st time voters and Bush led Obama's win

Half of Republicans, about the same number of conservatives and a quarter of independents said the same thing. As if returning the favor, half of Democrats and liberals and a quarter of independents said a McCain presidency would scare them.

On the other end of the scale, Obama's backers exhibited far more enthusiasm for an Obama presidency than McCain's did for putting him into the White House. A quarter of conservatives and three in 10 Republicans said a McCain presidency seemed exciting; over half of Democrats and liberals felt excitement over the prospects of a President Obama.

Gender and age

Nearly six in 10 women were Obama voters, while men divided their votes about evenly.

Two-thirds of people under age 30 were backing Obama, easily the best showing with this age group for Democrats since at least 1992. Those age 65 and up were tilting slightly toward McCain.

According to the preliminary results, people under age 30 - heavily courted by Obama - were comprising just under one in five voters, roughly the same proportion of all voters as in 2004.

Party Matters

About four in 10 voters were Democrats while about a third were Republicans. Roughly nine in 10 Democrats were backing Obama, and about the same number of Republicans were supporting McCain.

Just over half of independents were voting for Obama.

Change trumps experience

More than a third of voters said they most wanted a candidate who would bring change to Washington, and they were voting heavily for Obama. Nearly as many said they wanted someone who shares their values, and two-thirds of those voters preferred McCain. About one in five were looking most for experience, a group that heavily favored McCain. A smaller portion were seeking a candidate who cares about people like them, and they favored Obama.

The big issue that wasn't

A year ago the Iraq war was the big issue, but it faded in importance. Still, the war remains unpopular, and distaste for the conflict helped Obama. Nearly two-thirds disapprove of the conflict, and that group overwhelmingly backed the Democrat.

Two-thirds of voters said they were worried about being able to afford the health care they need. Of this group, about six in 10 were supporting Obama. On an issue that had been one of McCain's strengths during the campaign, about seven in 10 voters said they worry that there will be another terrorist attack in the United States. Those voters, though, were about evenly divided between the two candidates.

Related stories:

- Text of Obama's speech in Chicago after winning the presidential election

- Obama wins presidency, becomes first black U.S. leader

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