WASHINGTON — The reaction — or lack of it — by Indiana and North Carolina voters to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary comments emphasizes how deeply entrenched the racial lines of support are for the two Democratic presidential rivals.

It doesn’t seem likely that the renewed focus on Wright has helped Barack Obama, and it is all but certain that he’ll hear more about it from Republicans should he win his party’s nomination. But for now, there’s little evidence it hurt him much in this week’s Democratic contests.

After all the attention to Wright and Obama’s disavowal of his former pastor, exit polls in the two states found that:

–Six in 10 white voters in both states supported Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is waging an increasingly long-shot struggle to become the party nominee. That’s close to the average 57 percent of whites who had backed the New York senator in Democratic primaries since Super Tuesday, which was Feb. 5. It’s also slightly below the 63 percent of whites who voted for her in Pennsylvania and 69 percent in Mississippi, the most recent contests before Tuesday’s voting.

– Whites lacking college degrees favored Clinton over Obama by 31 percentage points in Indiana and 45 points in North Carolina. Since Super Tuesday, she has triumphed over Obama among this group by an average 30 points, including 41 points in Pennsylvania and 55 points in Mississippi.

–White men leaned toward Clinton on Tuesday, as she got 59 percent in Indiana and 55 percent in North Carolina. Clinton got 57 percent of their votes in Pennsylvania and 67 percent in Mississippi.

–About nine in 10 blacks in Indiana and North Carolina voted for Obama, slightly stronger than his usual showing with them. It mattered little whether they said the Wright situation influenced them or not.

Pollsters said there was not enough data to draw conclusions about whether the attention on Wright drove people away from Obama, the Illinois senator, or drew some toward him because of how he denounced the pastor.

Barack Obama never wanted his candidacy to be about race, but an extraordinary racial gap appeared to play a decisive role in his big North Carolina victory Tuesday.

According to exit polling in the Tar Heel State, Obama got 92 percent of the African-American vote — a record percentage for him in the Democratic primaries. Blacks made up a third of the state’s electorate.

Hillary Clinton’s continued advantage over Obama among white voters — who made up 62 percent of the total and voted 60 to 36 percent for her over Obama — was no match for the solid backing the Illinois senator got from blacks.

In Indiana, which has a much smaller African-American population at 15 percent, the story was much of the same. There, Obama won 92 percent of the African-American vote, and Clinton won 60 percent of white voters, who comprised 81 percent of the vote.

Exit polling indicated that race wasn’t the only factor that helped Obama narrow Clinton’s lead in Indiana and propel his win in North Carolina. He cut into her own constituencies — like lower-income voters, Catholics and those who said the economy was their most pressing issue.

The controversy surrounding Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, weighed on the minds of some voters. In both Indiana and North Carolina, nearly half the voters said the Wright issue was important to them, and a majority of those voters went for Clinton.

Bob Beckel, Democratic strategist and FOX News contributor, said Obama took a hit because of his former pastor in the Pennsylvania primary two weeks ago, but he believes the impact has reached its peak.

“I think it’s overstated,” he said of the race issue — whether it be the Wright factor or even the racial gap.

Beckel said blacks no doubt rallied behind Obama, especially after what he called the glut of attacks on the candidate in recent weeks, but he does not think the white-black divide will affect the general election.

“They’re talking about how he doesn’t get the white, working-class voters,” said Beckel, pointing out how Clinton attracted many Democrats on the themes of the economy, criticism of the Bush White House and campaigning on heartland values.

“These people went for that message, and they aren’t going to vote for John McCain in the fall,” he said.

Despite half the voters saying the Wright issue was important to them, a majority still said that Obama “shares their values,” an indication that he can not only cross racial lines, but isn’t as alien to Democrats as his opponents had painted him out to be, Beckel added.

“If Wright was going to be an issue, then where it would have shown up is in the ’shares their values’ question,” he said.

Undecided superdelegate Muriel Offerman, of Cary, N.C., said she had wondered if the Wright controversy could have cost Obama her state and still questions what the racial divide will mean in the fall.

“This week I wasn’t sure how this was going to shake out because of the Jeremiah Wright thing and because President Clinton had been here so much,” she said in a telephone interview from her home, where she was watching coverage of Obama’s victory on television. Former President Bill Clinton visited small towns across North Carolina in support of his wife, including nine stops on the eve of the election.

“People want change and I think North Carolina is like some of the other states, that it’s just time for a change,” Offerman said. But she said Obama’s racially lopsided victory “is certainly a concern. And I think we all have our work cut out for us.”

FOX News’ Kelley Beaucar Vlahos and The Associated Press contributed to this report

The following is Barack Obama’s victory rally speech in North Carolina.

BARACK OBAMA: Thank you, North Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you so much. Thank you very much.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!

OBAMA: I love you back. I truly do.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank Kim Winns (ph) for that wonderful introduction, to the outstanding members of the North Carolina congressional delegation who supported me through thick and thin, the dean, Representative David Price, and his wife, Lisa…

(APPLAUSE)

… Congressman Mel Watt, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, thank you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

To James Oblinger, chancellor of North Carolina State University…

(APPLAUSE)

… Wolfpack — to the state, county and local elected officials in attendance, to the North Carolina Democratic Party, and most of all to my North Carolina volunteers who worked so hard…

(APPLAUSE)

… this is your victory.

You know, there are those who were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election. But today what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on what appears to be her victory in the great state of Indiana. I want to thank all the people — I want to thank all the wonderful people of Indiana who worked so hard on our behalf.

(APPLAUSE)

The people in Indiana could not be finer. They worked tirelessly, and I will always be grateful to them.

I want to thank, of course, the people of North Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank them for giving us a victory in a big state…

(APPLAUSE)

… in a swing state, in a state where we will compete to win if I am the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, when this campaign began, Washington didn’t give us too much of a chance. But because you came out in the bitter cold, and knocked on doors, and enlisted your friends and neighbors in this cause, because you stood up to the cynics and the doubters and the naysayers, when we were up and when we were down, because you still believe that this is our moment and our time to change America, tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

More importantly, because of you, we’ve seen that it’s possible to overcome the politics of division and the politics of distraction, that it’s possible to overcome the same, old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems.

We’ve seen that the American people aren’t looking for more spin. They’re looking for honest answers about the challenges we face. That’s what you’ve accomplished in this campaign, and that’s how together we intend to change this country.

(APPLAUSE)

This has been one of the longest, most closely fought contests in American history. And that’s partly because we have such a formidable opponent in Senator Hillary Clinton.

Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided, that Senator Clinton’s supporters will not support me and that my supporters would not support her. Well, I am here tonight to tell you that I don’t believe it.

(APPLAUSE)

Yes, yes, there have been bruised feelings on both sides. Yes, each side desperately wants their candidate to win. But ultimately this race is not about Hillary Clinton; it’s not about Barack Obama; it’s not about John McCain.

This election is about you, the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s about whether we will have a president and a party that can lead us toward a brighter future.

This primary season may not be over, but when it is we will have to remember who we are as Democrats, that we are the party of Jefferson and Jackson, of Roosevelt and Kennedy, and that we are at our best when we lead with principle, when we lead with conviction, when we summon an entire nation to a common purpose and a higher purpose.

(APPLAUSE)

This fall, we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party, united by a common vision for this country, because we all agree that at this defining moment in our history, a moment when we are facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril, a dream that feels like it’s slipping away for too many Americans, we can’t afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush’s third term.

We need change in America. And that’s why we will be united in November.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

OBAMA: The woman I met in Indiana who had just lost her job, lost her pension, lost her health insurance, when the plant where she’d worked her entire life closed down, she can’t afford four more years of tax breaks for corporations like the one that shipped her job overseas. She needs us to give tax breaks to companies that create good jobs right here in the United States of America.

She can’t afford four more years of tax breaks for CEOs like the one who walked away from her company with a multimillion-dollar bonus. She needs middle-class tax relief of the sort I’ve proposed, relief that will help her pay the skyrocketing price of groceries, and gas, and college tuition.

And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

The college student I met in Iowa who works the night shift after a full day of classes, still can’t pay the medical bills for a sister who’s ill, she can’t afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and the wealthy, that allows insurance companies to discriminate and deny coverage to those Americans who need it most.

She needs us to stand up to those insurance companies and pass a plan that lowers every family’s premiums and gives every uninsured American the same kind of coverage that members of Congress gives themselves. That’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.

The mother in Wisconsin who gave me a bracelet inscribed with the name of the son she lost in Iraq, the families who pray for their loved ones to come home, the heroes on a third and fourth and fifth tour of duty, they can’t afford four more years of a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged.

(APPLAUSE)

They can’t afford four more years of our veterans returning to broken-down barracks and substandard care.

And they don’t want to see homeless veterans on the streets. They don’t want to see veterans waiting years to get disability payments or having to travel for hours and miles just to get treatment.

They need us to end the war that isn’t making us safer. They need us to treat them with the care and respect they deserve. That’s why I’m running for president.

(APPLAUSE)

The man I met in Pennsylvania who lost his job but can’t even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he can’t afford four more years of an energy policy written by the oil companies and for the oil companies, a policy that’s not only keeping gas at record prices, but funding both sides of the war on terror and destroying our planet.

He doesn’t need four more years of Washington policies that sound good, but don’t solve the problem. He needs us to take a permanent holiday from our addiction from oil by making the automakers raise their fuel standards, corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future.

That’s the change we need. That’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

The people that I’ve met in small towns and big cities across this country understand that government can’t solve all our problems, and we don’t expect it to. We believe in hard work; we believe in personal responsibility and self-reliance.

But we also believe that we have a larger responsibility to one another as Americans, that America is a place, that America is the place where you can make it if you try, that no matter how much money you start with or where you come from or who your parents are, opportunity is yours if you’re willing to reach for it and work for it.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s the idea that, while there are few guarantees in life, you should be able to count on a job that pays the bills, health care for when you need it, a pension when you retire, an education for your children that will allow them to fulfill their God-given potential, that’s the America we believe in. That’s the America that we know.

This is the country that gave my grandfather a chance to go to college on the G.I. Bill when he came home from World War II, a country that gave him and my grandmother the chance to buy their first home with a loan from the FHA.

This is the country that made it possible for my mother, a single parent who had to go on food stamps at one point, to send my sister and me to the best schools in the country on scholarships.

This is the country that allowed my father-in-law, a shift worker, a city worker at a water filtration plant in Chicago, to provide for his wife and two children on a single salary.

Now, this is a man who was diagnosed at the age of 30 with multiple sclerosis, who relied on a walker to get himself to work, and yet every day he went, and he labored, and he sent my wife and her brother to one of the best colleges in the nation.

And when he talked about his job, he expressed that it was important not just because it gave him a paycheck, but because it described his dignity, his self-worth, his self-respect. It was an America that didn’t just reward wealth, but it rewarded work and the workers who created it.

That’s the America I love. That’s the America you love. That’s the America that we are fighting for in this election.

(APPLAUSE)

Somewhere along the line, between all the bickering and the influence-peddling and the game-playing of the last few decades, Washington and Wall Street have lost touch with these core values, these American values.

And while I honor John McCain’s service to his country, his ideas for America are out of touch with these core values. His plans for the future, of continuing a war that has not made us safer, of continuing George Bush’s economic policies that he claims have made great progress, these are nothing more than the failed policies of the past.

His plan to win in November appears to come from the very same playbook that his side has used time after time in election after election.

Yes, we know what’s coming. I’m not naive. We’ve already seen it, the same names and labels they always pin on everyone who doesn’t agree with all their ideas, the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives, by pouncing on every gaffe and association and fake controversy, in the hopes that the media will play along.

The attempts to play on our fears and exploit our differences, to turn us against each other for political gain, to slice and dice this country into red states and blue states, blue collar and white collar, white, black, brown, young, old, rich, poor…

(APPLAUSE)

… this is the race we expect, no matter whether it’s myself or Senator Clinton who is the nominee. The question then is not what kind of campaign they will run; it’s what kind of campaign we will run.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s what we will do to make this year different. You see, I didn’t get into this race thinking that I could avoid this kind of politics, but I am running for president because this is the time to end it.

(APPLAUSE)

We will end it — we will end it this time not because I’m perfect. I think we know at this phase of the campaign that I am not.

We will end it not by duplicating the same tactics and the same strategies as the other side, because that will lead us down the same path of polarization and of gridlock.

We will end it by telling the truth.

(APPLAUSE)

We will end it by telling the truth forcefully, repeatedly, confidently, and by trusting that the American people will embrace the need for change, even if it’s coming from an imperfect messenger, because that’s how we’ve — that’s — because that’s how we’ve always changed this country, not from the top down, but from the bottom up, when you, the American people, decide that the stakes are too high and the challenges are too great.

The other side can label and name-call all they want, but I trust the American people to recognize that it is not surrender to end the war in Iraq so that we can rebuild our military and go after Al Qaida’s leaders.

I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies, like Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did.

(APPLAUSE)

I trust the American people to realize that, while we don’t need big government, we do need a government that stands up for families who are being tricked out of their homes by Wall Street predators, a government who stands up for the middle class by giving them a tax break, a government that ensures that no American will ever lose their life savings just because their child gets sick.

Security and opportunity, compassion and prosperity aren’t liberal values. They are not conservative values. They are American values, and that is what we are fighting for in this election.

(APPLAUSE)

Most of all, I trust the American people’s desire to no longer be defined by differences, because no matter where I’ve been in this country, whether it was in the cornfields of Iowa or the textile mills of the Carolinas, the streets of San Antonio or the foothills of Georgia, I’ve found that, while we may have different stories, we hold common hopes.

We may not look the same or come from the same place, but we want to move in the same direction towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren. That’s why I’m in this race.

I love this country too much to see it divided and distracted at this critical moment in history.

(APPLAUSE)

I believe in our ability to perfect this nation, because it’s the only reason I’m standing here today. I know the promise of America, because I’ve lived it. Michelle has lived it; you have lived it.

It is the light of opportunity that led my father across an ocean. It’s the founding ideals that the flag draped over my father’s coffin stand for. It is life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It’s the simple truth I learned all those years ago when I worked in the shadow of all those shuttered steel mills on the south side of the Chicago, that, in this country, justice can be won against the greatest odds, hope can find its way back from the darkest of corners.

And when we are told that we cannot bring about the change that we seek, we answer with one voice: Yes, we can.

So, North Carolina and America, don’t ever forget that this election is not about me or any candidate. Don’t ever forget that this campaign is about you. It’s about your hopes; it’s about your dreams; it’s about your struggles; it’s about your aspirations; it’s about securing your portion of the American dream.

Don’t ever forget that we have a choice in this country, that we can choose not to be divided, that we can choose not to be afraid, that we can still choose this moment to finally come together and solve the problems we’ve talked about all those other years and all those other elections.

This time can be different than all the rest. This time we can face down those who say our road is too long, that our climb is too steep, that we can no longer achieve the change that we seek.

This is our time to answer the call that so many generations of Americans have answered before, by insisting that, by hard work and by sacrifice, the American dream will endure.

Thank you. Thank you, North Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

May God bless you and the United States of America. Thank you. Thank you.

END

Barack Obama delivered a stiff setback to Hillary Clinton’s efforts to turn the tide of the Democratic race, winning the North Carolina primary by double digits Tuesday and holding Clinton to a narrow victory in Indiana.

Clinton showed no signs of letting up, but with his strong performance Obama extended his delegate and popular vote lead, and is poised to move ever closer to the nomination.

“Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination,” he told cheering supporters in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday night.

With all precincts reporting in North Carolina, Obama led Clinton 56 to 42 percent.

Together the two states were the last big contests on the primary calendar and offered the final chance for the candidates to make a serious dent in the delegate counts.

Obama’s delegate haul edged him closer to his prize — 1,840 to 1,684 for Clinton in The Associated Press count. The Democratic candidates need 2,025 delegates to win the nomination.

Clinton was declared the winner in Indiana more than six hours after polls closed in the state.

Vote counts were held up by Lake County, which was hand-counting 11,000 absentee ballots. Eventually returns came in showing the county trending toward Obama, an indication that he could pull out an upset in the state. The county includes the heavily black city of Gary, near Obama’s home city of Chicago. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, an Obama supporter, predicted a shocker as the votes were being tallied, but in the end Clinton won by 2 points, 51 percent to Obama’s 49 percent.

Earlier at her rally in Indianapolis, Clinton seemed undeterred by Obama’s commanding win in North Carolina or his strong performance in Indiana.

“Tonight we come from behind, we’ve broken the tie and thanks to you it’s full speed on to the White House,” Clinton said.

“A win is a win, on to West Virginia!” Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said after all the results came in. West Virginia and five other states or territories still have contests left on the primary calendar.

A well-placed Clinton campaign source said the campaign suspected a little political sabotage in Gary, which is known for submitting its election results late.

“The mayor of Gary is a huge Obama supporter and we believe they are holding the votes in Lake County deliberately to keep Hillary Clinton from going out to speak. We believe we have it but that they want to delay her speech,” the source said, shortly before Clinton spoke.

Obama had already congratulated Clinton for what “appears to be her victory” earlier at his rally in Raleigh, N.C.

There he taunted the New York senator for saying last week that North Carolina would be a “game-changer.” Obama’s double digit lead effectively blocked Clinton from staging an election-day upset in the state.

“Today what North Carolina decided is the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C.,” he said.

“More importantly, because of you, we have seen that it’s possible to overcome the politics of division and the politics of distraction; that it’s possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems. We’ve seen that the American people aren’t looking for more spin.”

Both candidates were faring well among bases usually loyal to their campaigns Tuesday.

In Indiana, Clinton’s advantage was based on groups that supported her in earlier primaries — white women, white working-class voters and rural voters.

The trend linking the New York senator with white voters with no college degree seemed to be continuing, according to exit polls. In Indiana, 65 percent of those voters went for Clinton, 34 percent for Obama. In North Carolina, 67 percent of those voters went for Clinton, 26 percent for Obama.

Clinton was winning among white men in both states, but it wasn’t enough to offset Obama’s solid support among young and black voters in North Carolina.

Overall, Obama led Clinton 56 to 42 percent in the state, with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Obama was getting 92 percent of the black vote there. And college-educated voters were going for Obama over Clinton 55 percent to 42 percent in the state.

Polls consistently showed Obama ahead in North Carolina for weeks, but Clinton had recently closed his lead to single digits.

Obama’s campaign did not expect to win Indiana or fight Clinton to something close to a tie. The Obama camp also internally wondered if the outcome in North Carolina could be a low single-digit win or a margin of, at most, 10 points.

In both categories, Obama bested his own expectations.

John McCain, virtually uncontested for the GOP presidential nomination, also won both states’ Republican primaries.

Meanwhile, huge numbers of voters streamed to the polls in both states.

Polls at a few precincts in Indiana were kept open an hour late to accommodate the long lines of voters.

And a North Carolina elections official projected voters there would be “making history” in a state where nearly 500,000 voters cast early and absentee ballots by Monday — more than half of all votes cast in the 2004 primary.

FOX News’ Aaron Bruns, Major Garrett and Bonney Kapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two Democratic candidates may have kept a grip on their key constituencies in Tuesday’s primary contests, but record support from one of Barack Obama’s key stongholds — African-American voters — catapulted him to a big win in North Carolina, and a close second in Indiana.

According to FOX News exit polling, Obama won 91 percent of the black vote in North Carolina, which made up 33 percent of the electorate. He did equally well with black women and men, no less than 90 percent each.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton kept a firm grip among whites in both states, but the margins were not enough to overcome Obama’s surge.

In Indiana, white men went for Clinton 58 percent to 42 percent for Obama. In North Carolina, she won 54 percent of white men to 40 percent for Obama.

Among white women, which made up 34 percent of the North Carolina vote, Clinton won 64 to 32 percent.

While Obama began his campaign last year with the intent of not making race an issue, it has certainly become one. Aside from the racial gap in the demographics, the issue of the Obama’s controversial pastor made an impact on the results on Tuesday, according to the polling.

Polls show that 30 percent of voters in the Indiana primaries said the issue of Rev. Jeremiah Wright was “very important” to their vote, while 18 percent said it was “somewhat important,” and of those voters combined, 69 percent voted for Hillary Clinton.

In North Carolina, 33 percent said Wright was “very important” to their vote, while 15 percent said it was “somewhat important,” and 62 percent of those two groups combined went with Clinton.

Despite this, Only 16 percent of Indiana voters said that race played an important role in their vote today, and of them, 57 percent said they went for Clinton, while 43 percent went for Obama.

For voters in both states, however, the economy was the biggest issue on their minds. In Indiana, 65 percent said the economy was their top issue in deciding their vote, and 54 percent of them went for Clinton compared to 45 percent for Obama. Meanwhile, 60 percent of voters in North Carolina said the economy was their top issue, and 52 percent of them went for Obama, 44 percent for Clinton.

In Indiana, 46 percent said their family has been affected “a great deal” by current economic conditions, and 53 percent of them voted for Clinton, while 47 percent went for Obama. In North Carolina, 37 percent said their family was affected “a great deal” by the economy, and 62 percent of them went for Obama, while 36 percent of them went for Clinton.

The trend linking Clinton with white voters with no college degree seemed to continue in Indiana, according to the polls. In Indiana, 65 percent of these voters went for Clinton, 34 percent for Obama. In North Carolina, 67 percent of these voters went for Clinton, 26 percent for Obama.

In North Carolina, college-educated voters went for Obama over Clinton 55 percent to 42 percent.

As for lower-income voters in Indiana, those making less than $50,000 a year supported Clinton by 51 percent, while 48 percent went for Obama.

But Clinton also won among higher-income voters, besting Obama 51 percent to 48 percent among those making more than $50,000.

As in previous primary contests throughout the country, older voters went hard for Clinton. In Indiana, 71 percent of senior citizens went for Clinton, while 29 percent went for Obama.

But Obama showed impressive numbers with the under-30 crowd — 71 percent of them in North Carolina went for him over Clinton.

Obama also won among new primary voters — which constituted 21 percent of the vote in Indiana, according to polls, 59 percent to 41 percent.

Also in line with previous primaries, Obama emerged the more “trustworthy” of the two candidates, at least in Indiana. Of those voters, 66 percent said he is honest and trustworthy, while 54 percent said the same for Clinton. Of the voters who said Clinton was not trustworthy or honest, however, 25 percent still voted for her.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of voters said Clinton “shares their values,” while 65 percent said Obama shares theirs. In North Carolina, 69 percent said Obama shares their values, while 60 percent said the same about Clinton.

Republicans who were able to vote in the Indiana contests went for Clinton 52 percent to 46 percent for Obama, while independents, according to the polling, went for Obama 51 percent to 49 percent.

Looking toward the general election, an equal number of Indiana voters — 48 percent — say they believe Clinton or Obama can beat Republican John McCain in the fall. In North Carolina, 54 percent said Obama can beat McCain, while 40 said the same about Clinton.

Click here to read Indiana exit polling data.

Click here to read North Carolina exit polling data.

Join FOXNews.com Tuesday night for live streaming of two exclusive programs covering the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

The special online programming begins with the latest installment of “The Strategy Room” at 7:30 p.m. ET, where readers can watch, hear and help participate as FOX News’ Shepard Smith moderates a freewheeling discussion among some of America’s leading political minds. Smith and crew will also appear live on FOX News Channel throughout the evening’s coverage, discussing the vote results and working their own sources to report new information.

Smith will follow with his own streaming feature at 9:45 pm ET. FOX News viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look as he prepares for and delivers his live shots for FOX affiliate stations around the country, updating viewers and FOXNews.com users with the latest analysis.

A series of guests and FOX News personalities will also be on hand to participate in the streaming. Among those scheduled to participate include:

- Karl Rove, FOX News contributor and former Bush political strategist;

- Chris Wallace, host of FOX News Sunday;

- Kirsten Powers, author and political commentator;

- Chris Kofinis, former John Edwards communications director;

- Pete Snyder, Republican strategist

Click here to watch live coverage on FOXNews.com.