Departing from the statewide trends in Missouri, Washington University students overwhelmingly voted for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), according to exit polls conducted by Student Life.

Senators Obama and McCain both won hard fought victories in the state’s Super Tuesday contests by a very small margin.

In data from exit polls conducted by Student Life within the three precincts in which most University students vote, Senator Obama received 80 percent of the student vote in the Democratic contest and Senator McCain received 60 percent of the student vote in the Republican contest.

Senator Clinton garnered 20 percent of the votes among University students, considerably less than the 48 percent that she garnered statewide.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney brought in 25 percent of the student vote, while in the final statewide tally he finished third.

Although Senator McCain won the Missouri primary, his margin among the general election was far smaller than among University students; as of press time, fewer than 10,000 votes separated Senator McCain from his nearest competitor, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Student voting trends are largely in line with-though more pronounced than-the trends for surrounding St. Louis County where Senator Obama received 71 percent of the vote.

In line with trends from previous polls of the University community, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and healthcare topped students list of the largest factor in deciding for whom to vote.

Breaking with the campus-wide trend, those Democrats that voted for Senator Clinton were more likely to identify healthcare as the most pressing issue facing the nation.

Throughout the election, Senator Obama has drawn media attention for the sustained support he has received from young voters-a group traditionally thought to be politically apathetic.

“Young people have really woken up over these past four years,” said Tamia Booker, the campus events manager at the Center for American Progress. “So many things have happened and changed and young people have become more interested and more progressive.”

Despite the relatively lackluster support for other candidates among University voters, nationwide all presidential candidates have enjoyed support from a new generation of voters.

“I think that what Senator Obama did is really start the trend in terms of paying attention to young voters,” said Booker. “He did get a large turnout in Iowa, but when you go to New Hampshire you get a large turnout for Senator Clinton.”

The exit poll was administered through the day by Student Life reporters at the three polling places in which the majority of University students vote: Wohl Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Trinity Presbyterian Church.

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