Among the findings of Voter News Service exit polling of Utah voters in Tuesday's election:
YOUNG REPUBLICANS: George W. Bush's victory in Utah was buoyed by young voters. Four out of five voters ages 18-44 voted Republican. Though Bush was favored by all age groups, Al Gore's best showing was among voters 60 and older, perhaps because of the Social Security and Medicare prescription drug plans he touted during his campaign.
INDEPENDENTS: Utah voters who described themselves as independent or "other" favored Bush by a wide margin. Gore and Bush held their own among voters of their own parties, which produced for Bush his strong showing.
INCOME: Bush was favored across all income ranges. But the more voters said they earned, the more likely they were to support Bush.
FINANCIAL SITUATION: Utah voters overwhelmingly were pro-Bush regardless of their financial situation. But those who described their finances as the same or worse as in 1996 were even more likely to support Bush. One positive note for Utah: Nearly half of Utah voters described themselves as better off than four years ago, and four out of ten said they were at least as good.
THE CLINTON FACTOR: A fifth of Clinton supporters in Utah from four years ago abandoned Gore for Bush. Clinton drew poor job- and personal-approval ratings. Those who did approve of the job Clinton has been doing gave Gore only a bare majority of their support.
RELIGION: Three out of four Utah voters described themselves as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Of that group, Bush picked up three out of four votes, leaving nearly all the rest for Gore.
NO STRAIGHT TICKET: A quarter of the people who voted Republican in the presidential election also supported Democrat Bill Orton over Republican Gov. Mike Leavitt. That may reflect dissatisfaction among conservative Republicans who were boycotting Leavitt.
Source: Voter News Service survey of 811 voters as they left 15 randomly selected polling places across Utah. Sampling error margin for each result: plus or minus 5 percentage points for all voters, higher for subgroups.