By Jason Lange and Helen Coster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Voters in Republican presidential primary contests in North Carolina, Virginia and California appeared particularly focused on immigration, according to the preliminary results of exit polls conducted on Tuesday by Edison Research.
Updated results for the Super Tuesday exit polls will be available as more responses to the polls are gathered.
* 43% of North Carolina voters said immigration mattered most when deciding how they would vote in the contest, compared to 31% who said the economy mattered most. 11% cited abortion policy and 9% said foreign policy.
* In Virginia, immigration was also the top concern, while in California, voters were slightly more likely to say the economy mattered most, with immigration cited nearly as often.
* 60% of voters in North Carolina’s Republican primary don’t think Biden was legitimately elected, compared to 46% in Virginia and 57% in California.
* 64% of North Carolina voters said that if former President Donald Trump were convicted of a crime, he would still be fit for the presidency, while 32% said he would not be fit. In Virginia, 53% said he would be fit, while in California, 68% said he would be fit.
* In North Carolina, 62% thought immigrants without legal status should be deported and 34% said they should be able to apply for legal status. In Virginia, 59% said they should be deported, while in California, 69% said they should be deported.
* 23% of Republican primary voters in North Carolina consider themselves moderate or liberal, compared to 35% in Virginia and 31% in California.
* 44% of voters in North Carolina had a college degree, compared to 52% in Virginia and 42% in California.
* 34% of North Carolina’s Republican primary voters usually think of themselves as independents, compared to 29% in Virginia and 32% in California.
* Whites who consider themselves evangelical or born-again Christians made up 52% of North Carolina’s voters, compared to 36% in Virginia and 22% in California.
(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Helen Coster in New York, editing by Ross Colvin)
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