An analysis of exit polls taken from voters in House races across the U.S. shows that while many traditional voting patterns held true, the GOP was able to ride voters' worries over the deficit and crime -- and their mistrust of Bill Clinton -- to recapture both houses of Congress.

Looking to the 1996 presidential election, the same survey shows Clinton trailing any Republican candidate by 8 points, while Bob Dole and Colin Powell lead the pack for the GOP nomination. Ironically, most of Powell's support (55 percent) would come from Democrats, as would 44 percent of Kemp's backing.

But upon further scrutiny, the 37 percent of Democrats who said they would would support Dan Quayle and the 27 percent who would support Dole raise suspicions that some Dems are pulling the hypothetical lever who they might hope are beatable rather than viable candidates.

Among the specific findings:

BY SEX AND RACE: Fifty-seven percent of male voters backed Republican candidates while 54 percent of women voted Democratic. Over nine out of ten blacks voted Democratic as Hispanic voters split 60 percent-40 percent between Democrats and the GOP. Asian-Americans gave the Democrats a 10 percent (55 percent-45 percent) edge.

EDUCATION AND INCOME: The largest majorities in this area (63 percent) were represented by voters with yearly incomes below $15,000, who supported Democrats, and those making over $100,000 a year, who voted Republican.

On education, Democrats did well at both extremes of the scholarly spectrum. Voters without a high school diploma again supported Democratic candidates by a 60 percent-40 percent margin; the GOP gained a 3 percent majority among high school grads and comfortable 10+-point margins among college-educated voters. But the Dems surged back to win the post-graduate voters, 58 percent to 42 percent.

The Republicans far outpolled the Democrats, (56 percent-44 percent) among independents.

In US gubernatorial races, only fourteen percent of Democrats jumped ship to vote for Republican candidates, while 24 percent of Republican voters backed Democratic candidates.

ECHOES OF 1992: Seventeen percent of those disapproving of Clinton's job performance--both Democrat and Republican--nevertheless broke ranks to vote for candidates of the other party. Fifteen percent of Clinton's 1992 supporters voted for the GOP, while 12 percent of Bush voters crossed the line.

The Republicans' margin among Perot voters was even larger than their win among independents, with 67 percent of the Perot voters backing GOP candidates.

Self-described liberals and conservatives lined up behind Democratic and Republicans respectively, although more conservatives voted for Democrats than liberals did for Republicans by a margin of 20 percent to 18 percent. But among moderate voters, the Democrats held a solid 58 percent to 42 percent edge.

RELIGION: A majority of both Protestants and Catholics voted Republican, while Jews backed Democrats by a nearly 4-to-1 margin. Those professing other religions preferred the GOP, 51 percent to 49 percent, while those professing none at all gave a solid margin to the Democrats. Voters describing themselves as white Christian fundamentalists went 4-to-1 for GOP candidates.

MEN (AND WOMEN) AT WORK: Republicans eked out a four-point margin among the currently employed. However, working women preferred Democratic candidates by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin--three points greater than females in the general population.

CRIME VICTIMS: Crime victims preferred Republicans by a 10-point margin, (55 percent to 45 percent), while 69 percent of gun owners pulled the lever on the GOP. Talk radio listeners also preferred the GOP by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin.

UNION MADE: Union members retained their traditional loyalty to the Democratic party by a 61 percent to 39 percent margin.

PREFERENCE AND CHOICES: Gays and lesbians gave Democratic candidates a strong margin of approval: 73 percent to 27 percent

NEED FOR CHANGE: With more sitting members of Congress than the GOP, the Democrats were more vulnerable to anti-incumbent sentiments sweeping the US. Those who said they were as "fed up with political parties" backed the GOP by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin. Seventy percent of those who agreed with the statement "time to elect all new people" chose GOP candidates.

CHECKS UNBALANCED: While a majority of Americans (54 percent) say they prefer the President and Congress to be of the same party, 45 percent of this majority voted for Republican candidates. The choice was even easier for those favoring split control of the executive and legislative branches, who gave the GOP a 62 percent to 38 percent margin.

BACKLASH AGAINST CONGRESS: Of those who approve of Congress' performance, 75 percent went Democrat, while 58 percent of those disapproving voted Republican.

Ninety-four percent of both Republican and Democrats respondents said they were voting to support rather than oppose a particular candidate.

CLINTON HIT: Only 47 percent of the electorate said they believed in Clinton's honesty; four out of 5 of these respondents voted Democratic. Of the 49 percent of all voters who doubt Clinton's personal honesty, only 17 percent backed Democratic candidates.

On a less personal level, the deficit was the number-one issue voters wanted tackled by Congress, with welfare reform trailing by four points. Less than a third (31 percent) of voters felt that health care reform was a pressing issue, and 66 percent agreed that Congress' refusal to pass the Clinton health plan "was a good thing." Campaign finance was cited by only 3 percent.

Of those who feel government should take a more activist role, 71 percent voted for Democrats, while 69 percent of those who felt government should do less voted for Republicans.

LOOKING TO 1996: Were the 1996 vote held today, Clinton would garner only 32 percent of the vote to 38 percent for an unspecified Republican opponent. Five percent would vote for an independent candidate, while 24 percent of the respondents describe themselves as undecided.

DOLE IN '96?: In a hypothetical six-man race, Bob Dole leads Colin Powell for the 1996 Republican nomination by 18 percent to 17 percent. Jack Kemp edged Dan Quayle for third place, 12 percent to 11 percent.

PEROT FACTOR: Forty-three percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans say a Perot endorsement of the Republican candidate would have no effect on their presidential vote in 1996.

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