Older voters, blacks and Obama backers boost Clinton in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Hillary Clinton triumphed in the Illinois Democratic primary for president Tuesday with the support of older voters, blacks and those who want to see the policies of President Barack Obama continued, according to results of interviews of voters leaving their polling places.

The former secretary of state bested Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among voters 45 and older, who represented 3 in 5 of the electorate. While blacks made up less than a third, she claimed 7 in 10 of their votes.

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On the Republican side, Donald Trump tapped into voter discontent with the federal government and anxiety about the economy to win on Tuesday. Almost 9 in 10 Republicans voting in Tuesday's Illinois primary indicated they are "dissatisfied" or "angry" at the federal government's direction, splitting their votes between Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But of the one-third of voters who were angry, more than half voted for Trump, according to results of the survey conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.

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A closer look at the attitudes of the electorate:

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PICK UP WHERE OBAMA LEFT OFF

More than half of Illinois Democrats say they want President Barack Obama's policies continued, with one-third seeking a more liberal direction. Clinton won more than 3 in 5 votes of those wishing to stay the course.

Nearly three-quarters of Democrats are satisfied with either Clinton or Sanders, and 6 in 10 found each "about right" on political philosophy. More than half of GOP voters indicated they want an outsider to take over the Oval Office, with nearly seven in 10 of those voters indicating a preference for Trump.

But even among Democrats, the small proportion who wanted an outsider loomed large, voting overwhelmingly for Sanders.

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TRUMP TREMORS

Trump has been a simultaneous front-runner and lightning rod for most of the presidential campaign. And despite his win, Illinois Republicans' unease with him is apparent.

Almost 4 in 10 GOP voters thought Trump would be the best choice as the nation's commander in chief, while 3 in 10 said Cruz would be. But almost as many voters find Trump dishonest as believe him to be honest — while more than half say Cruz is honest, and 4 in 10 say he's dishonest. Seven in 10 voters thought Ohio Gov. John Kasich is honest.

Additionally, more than 4 in 10 say Trump has run the most unfair campaign among contenders, and just under half of them voted for Cruz.

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IMPORTANT ISSUES

The state of the economy was the most important issue to about half of Democrats, who split their votes between Clinton and Sanders. Almost one-quarter ranked income inequality as their next issue, with almost 6 in 10 favoring Sanders. Fewer than 2 in 10 said health care was the most important issue, while less than 1 in 10 said they worried most about terrorism.

Among GOP voters, almost 4 in 10 said the economy was the most important issue facing the nation, and the same proportion voted for Trump, while 3 in 10 voted for Cruz. Three in 10 were most worked up about government spending, and they split their votes between Cruz and Trump. Fewer than 2 in 10 cited terrorism as the most important issue, but 4 in 10 of those who did voted for Trump. Fewer than 1 in 10 said immigration was most important.

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AGE, RACE AND GENDER

More than half of Democratic men supported Sanders — the same proportion of women siding with Clinton. Sanders took 7 in 10 votes among those under age 45; Clinton claimed more than 3 in 5 of those older. Seven in 10 black voters marked Clinton's name, while about 3 of 5 whites preferred Sanders.

In an election that could catapult the first woman into the Oval Office, nearly 4 in 5 Democrats said gender did not play an important role in their decision — and just over half of them voted for Sanders.

Among GOP voters, almost two-thirds were 45 or older, and 4 in 10 of them voted for Trump. Those 44 and younger split their votes between Trump, Cruz and Kasich. About half of voters were men, and 4 in 10 voted for Trump, while more than 3 in 10 women voted for Cruz and Trump and 2 in 10 for Kasich.

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The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research as voters left their polling places at 35 randomly selected sites in Illinois. Results include interviews with 1,521 Democratic primary voters and 1,233 Republican primary voters. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for both Democratic and Republican primary voters.

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