Early national exit polls suggest that the economy is the most important issue to Republican voters. Interestingly, the war in Iraq is only their third-most important issue, while immigration is the second-most important. John McCain has long been cast as the war candidate or the war on terror candidate by the pundits, yet it still looks to be a very good night for him. These early exits suggest that efforts to portray McCain as against the party on immigration and ill-informed on the economy have failed.

Democrats — top issue: economy 47%; war in Iraq 30%; health care 19%.

Republicans — top issue: economy 38%; immigration 24%; war in Iraq 20%; terrorism 15%.