rizona Senator John McCain wasn't able to do throughout the country what he did yesterday in Massachusetts: convince voters he's a loyal Republican and build a winning coalition of GOP conservatives and moderates, with a boost from voters who identify themselves as independents.
Vice President Al Gore had no such trouble here or elsewhere with his party. Exit polls show he handily defeated former senator Bill Bradley by winning support across all the Democrats' ideological and demographic divides, and he fared better than Bradley among independents.
In fact, in Super Tuesday's decisive Democratic primaries, Gore swamped Bradley among women and minority voters, Catholics and Protestants, union members and the elderly. In New York, he got 76 percent of the African-American vote and 86 percent of the Hispanic vote. In Massachusetts, Gore received 76 percent of the black vote.
According to Massachusetts exit polls conducted by the Voter News Service, McCain won 76 percent of independents and 88 percent of Democrats who voted in the GOP primary. He did better than Texas Governor George W. Bush among voters who identified themselves as liberals, moderates, and even conservatives, but he was not able to gain a majority of Republicans; they supported Bush 55 to 42 percent.
''This marks a coming of age of the dominant political group in Massachusetts,'' Secretary of State William F. Galvin said last night about the independents. ''They can be moved and once they do move, because of their size and influence, they're decisive.''
McCain's fundamental problem - his failure to appeal to rock-solid Republicans - was evident in California, Ohio, Missouri, Maryland, and Georgia. Only 27 percent of registered Republicans supported him in Ohio, 36 percent in California, and 20 percent in Georgia. In Missouri, 70 percent of Republicans voted for Bush; 65 percent supported him in Maryland.
In New York's Republican primary, McCain got 59 percent of the independent vote while Bush took 56 percent of the GOP vote. Male voters there gave McCain the edge, 48 to 45. But women voters, who Bush wooed with ads challenging McCain's support for breast-cancer research, favored Bush, 52 to 44 percent.
The exit polls, performed by a partnership of the Associated Press and television networks, showed that Bush appealed to liberals, moderates, and conservatives in the GOP primary in Georgia. In Ohio, moderates supported McCain 52 to 46 percent, but conservatives were more comfortable with Bush, supporting him 66 to 29 percent.
McCain, who caused an uproar last week when he called Christian conservative leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson ''agents of intolerance,'' did poorly among voters from the religious right. In Georgia, 83 percent of those voters were for Bush; in Ohio it was 74 percent, and in Missouri 71 percent. Only 8 percent of voters in Massachusetts' GOP primary identified with the religious right; 44 percent of them voted for McCain, compared with 45 percent that supported Bush.
McCain fared better among Catholic voters, perhaps as a result of his strong attacks on Bush for speaking at Bob Jones University. In New England's five GOP primaries, McCain won among Catholics and Protestants, but was supported by Catholics by a wider margin.
McCain's claim to be the real reformer didn't persuade most Republicans. In Georgia, 52 percent of voters said he wasn't a real reformer. In Missouri, 46 percent said Bush was a reformer, and 48 percent said McCain was a reformer. In New York, 22 percent said neither was a reformer.
Exit polls in New England's primary states showed Gore beating Bradley among all demographic groups - men and women, blacks and whites, young, old, those with low, moderate, and upper incomes. The majority of voters who called themselves liberals and moderates chose Gore. Those who called themselves ''very liberal'' split 48 percent for Bradley and 50 percent for Gore.
Although black voters made up only 8 percent of New England's Democratic voters, Gore was their overwhelming favorite, as he received 73 percent of the black vote. Gore also scored very well among the elderly.
Bradley did best among white, male voters with incomes over $100,000. In New England primaires, he was favored 67 to 28 percent on the issue of overhauling campaign finance laws, and voters by 61 to 35 percent thought he stood up for his beliefs.
Democratic primary voters, by a wide margin, favored Gore's positions on key issues, including Social Security, Medicare, education and health care.
Globe Staff writer Tina Cassidy contributed to this report.
