By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Preliminary exit poll result show that Roy Blunt relied on strong support from independent voters and limited government advocates to win the Missouri Senate race over Robin Carnahan.
Self-described independents made up nearly 30 percent of the roughly 2,500 Missouri voters surveyed Tuesday by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks. Nearly six in 10 said they voted for Blunt.
Blunt also collected three times as many votes as his opponent among the 70 percent of voters who expressed negative feelings about government.
Nearly twice as many rural and suburban voters selected the Republican congressman from Springfield over Carnahan, the Democratic Secetary of State.