Turnout for N.J. primary highest in half a century

Traditional Democratic constituencies - women, African Americans, Latinos and blue-collar workers - joined with energized newcomers Tuesday to fuel a New Jersey voter turnout of 35 percent, a startling increase from recent presidential primaries.

Of New Jersey's 4.8 million eligible voters, 1.7 million cast ballots, with 1.1 million voting in the Democratic primary.

Burlington County, which New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won on her way to taking a majority of the state's delegates, had 51,700 registered Democrats when polls opened. When results came in, 64,917 people had voted as Democrats, a clear indication of the influx of unaffiliated voters, who were allowed to choose a party the day of the primary.

How many unaffiliated voters voted Tuesday won't be known for days as election officials and curious party leaders analyze the results. But Gov. Corzine, who supports Clinton, trumpeted the Democratic numbers as a good omen for November.

The 35 percent turnout of eligible voters put New Jersey ahead of the 27 percent reported so far nationwide in what the American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate is projecting could be a record primary season.

In the 2004 presidential primary, New Jersey's turnout was only 10 percent, and this year's turnout was the highest for a presidential primary in the state since 1952, when 39 percent voted.

The surge can be attributed in part to a four-month move-up of the primary, which let New Jersey voters weigh in on presidential politics when the nominees were still undetermined, and the change in election law that allowed unaffiliated voters to declare a party at polling places.

For the Democratic battle, in which Clinton held off a late challenge from Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the traditional party constituency came out - but in greater numbers.

When voters split along racial, age, gender and ethnic lines, Clinton took white and Latino voters, and Obama took African Americans, young adults and more educated, affluent voters.

Obama beat Clinton in largely white, moneyed Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, staying with his national pattern of attracting upper-middle-class voters.

"In the end, it was about a wealthier, more-educated demographic preferring Obama," said Peter Woolley, polling director at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Obama also prevailed among African Americans in cities such as Camden, Trenton and Newark. But urban areas with large Latino populations favored Clinton. She won in Union City, which has a large Cuban population, and Newark's North Ward.

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz, a Clinton supporter who has worked polls in that North Ward for a decade, said she had seen "a greater voter turnout and a lot of newly registered voters, independents who had never come out in primaries, and quite a few people I didn't recognize from the neighborhood."

Tim Vercellotti, director of polling for the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, said that he had seen an increased Latino turnout, and that "in a tight race that could be the deciding factor."

With most of the Democratic machine behind her, Clinton was able to fight Obama for many of his voters. Even white men, who voted reliably for Obama in other states, swung to Clinton in New Jersey, Vercellotti said.

"In New Jersey she did well among all different classes and income levels," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University poll. "While the working class was certainly a part of it, she did well among some of the groups where Obama's done well, and that's basically why he didn't win this race."

Why? "It just has a lot to do with the New Jersey Democrats," Murray said.

Clinton's support among party leaders, from Corzine to most of the county chairs, pushed her over the top. But young, new voters, less likely to be contacted or swayed by the machine, liked Obama.

High turnout among young adults showed "Obama is really a reflection of how eager people are to have something different," Woolley said.

Moderate sensibilities took Republican voters to Arizona Sen. John McCain in large numbers.

But young Republicans did not come out in significant numbers, which Woolley said could be a "bad omen" for the GOP.

McCain instead appeared to benefit from the support of moderates who would have voted for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had he not dropped out of the race. Because there are relatively few conservative Republicans in the state, second-place finisher Mitt Romney didn't have much of a chance.

"The story is New Jersey Republicans are pragmatic, and they're moderate. With Giuliani out of the race, there was one moderate left standing," Monmouth University's Murray said.

Rick Mroz, coordinator of the McCain campaign in New Jersey, acknowledged a possible problem with young Republicans.

"We're trying to get a handle on that," he said.