What Iowa's caucusgoers were thinking

Highlights of a survey of Iowa Democrats arriving at caucuses Monday:

LATE-DECIDERS: Four in 10 said they decided which candidate to support within the last week; 39 percent of them favored John Kerry and 35 percent backed John Edwards, while Howard Dean got 14 percent of that group and Dick Gephardt 6 percent. The picture was very different among those who said they decided more than a month ago: 32 percent backed Dean, 28 percent Kerry, 20 percent Gephardt and 12 percent Edwards.

ISSUES: Nearly three in 10 caucusgoers selected health care and Medicare and as many picked the economy and jobs as the most important issue in their decision. Kerry outdistanced the other candidates among health care voters, and he and Edwards did best among those who cited the economy. Thirteen percent cited the war in Iraq and 37 percent of them favored Dean, to 28 percent for Kerry and 10 percent for Edwards.

IRAQ WAR: Though his antiwar position helped propel Dean to front-runner status for a time and three in four caucusgoers opposed the war, 34 percent of them supported Kerry to 24 percent each for Dean and Edwards. Kerry also won among those who supported the war.

CANDIDATE QUALITIES: Fifteen percent said the most important quality in deciding which candidate to support was that they have "the right experience" and 71 percent of them supported Kerry, the U.S. senator and decorated Vietnam War veteran. Among the 29 percent who said the top quality was that their candidate takes strong stands on issues, Dean got 31 percent but Kerry and Edwards were close behind. One in four said the top quality was that their candidate can beat President Bush in November, and Kerry won 37 percent of them, to 30 percent for Edwards and 21 percent for Dean.

- Survey conducted for the Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International among 1,665 caucusgoers. Results subject to sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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