Iraq Key Issue in Early Exit Polls

The Democrats are benefiting from the unpopularity of the Iraq war and antipathy towards the president, George Bush, early exit polls in the US midterm elections indicated today.

In surveys by the Associated Press and TV networks of voters who had just voted, two out of three said the war was very important to them and that they were leaning toward the Democrats.

Six out of 10 voters said they disapproved of the war as polls closed in a handful of states including Indiana, Florida and Virginia.

There were no surprises in the early results. As the first polls closed, voters put Vermont's only House seat in the Democratic column, electing the Democrat Peter Welch to replace Bernard Sanders, an independent who sided with Democrats. Mr Sanders left the House to run successfully for the Senate.

In Kentucky, representative Harold Rogers, a 13-term Republican, and representative Ben Chandler, a Democrat in his second term, easily won re-election as expected. So did Republican representative Dan Burton in Indiana. None of those races was competitive.

Only a third said the war had improved the long-term security of the US, down from almost half - 46% - in the 2004 national exit poll.

Despite the importance of Iraq, even more voters said the economy, government corruption and scandal were very important to their votes: a mixed bag for the Republicans, who face the prospect of losing the House of Representatives and - though this is less likely - the Senate.

Eight out of 10 said the economy was very important; while almost as many said corruption and scandals were very important. Terrorism was held to be at least as important as Iraq.

More than twice as many voters said they felt anger towards the president as felt enthusiastic about him.

These midterm elections are widely seen as a referendum on Mr Bush, whose popularity has plummeted because of Iraq. About four in 10 voters approved of how Mr Bush is handling his job - while slightly more said the same about Congress.

After doing some hard last-minute campaigning for Republican candidates, the president switched to cheerleading for democracy after casting his own vote in Texas.

With his wife, Laura, at his side and an "I voted" sticker on his lapel, he said, "No matter what your party affiliation, or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty: cast your ballot and let your voice be heard."

Hillary Clinton, running for re-election as senator in New York with an eye on the 2008 presidential race, voiced her party's campaign mantra of the need for change - with one qualification. "I voted for change, except for me," she said, casting her ballot with her former president husband, Bill, in Chappaqua, New York.

Glitches delayed balloting in dozens of Indiana and Ohio precincts, and Illinois officials were swamped with calls from voters complaining that poll workers did not know how to operate new electronic equipment.

But overall, the justice department said, polling complaints were down slightly on 2004 by early afternoon.

The campaign was by far the costliest in US history, with more than $1.4bn (£735m) spent by candidates, parties and interest groups. Much of the money went on attack commercials on TV - a campaign staple strategists in both parties said was effective, even though voters said the ads were offensive.

In the very tight Virginia Senate race, the FBI said it was looking into complaints that callers had tried to intimidate or confuse voters in the contest, which pits the Republican George Allen against Jim Webb, the Democrat challenger.

The state board of elections secretary, Jean Jensen, said her office had forwarded several reports to the FBI of voters receiving phone calls intended to discourage them from voting or directing them to the wrong polling place.

"If something is going on that worries and alarms voters enough that I'm contacted to look into it, I have a responsibility to do that," Ms Jensen said.