Highlights of the Exit Polls in the Deep South G.O.P. Primaries The Times's polling unit is analyzing the results of the exit polls in Alabama and Mississippi as Republicans in those states vote for a nominee. Evangelical Christians Voters in Alabama and Mississippi overwhelmingly describe themselves as white, evangelical Christians, and many say that it matters "a great deal" that candidates share their religious beliefs, according to early exit poll results. The demographics of the two states are similar to those in other Southern states where Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have done well and Mr. Romney has struggled. Evangelical Christians account for about 8 in 10 voters in Alabama and Mississippi. If those numbers hold, the only other states that had nearly that many evangelical voters in the contests so far were Tennessee, with 76 percent, and Oklahoma, with 74 percent. More than 4 in 10 voters in Mississippi and Alabama say it matters a great deal to them that a candidate share their religious beliefs. That's similar to the number of voters that said so in Tennessee (43 percent), but more than any other state where the question was asked. The religious makeup of Mississippi and Alabama offer a potentially tough terrain for Mr. Romney. In the five states this year where evangelicals made up more than 50 percent of those voting, Mr. Romney lost. By contrast, Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon, won all of the states where the evangelical population was below 30 percent. - Michael D. Shear and Dalia Sussman Electability As has been the case in every Republican contest so far, voters in Alabama and Mississippi say the top quality they're looking for in a candidate is his ability to defeat Mr. Obama, according to preliminary exit polls. The early measure of voter sentiment from the two Southern states offers some hope for Mr. Romney, who won these voters in every state except Georgia and South Carolina, where they supported Mr. Gingrich. Mr. Romney has spent much of the past year arguing that he is best positioned to defeat Mr. Obama, in part because of his fund-raising prowess and his campaign organization. But his rivals, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich, have argued that the similarities between some of Mr. Romney's positions and those of Mr. Obama will make it difficult for Republicans to win. Voters in Alabama and Mississippi appeared to agree more often with Mr. Romney; in the preliminary exit polls, they were most apt to cite him as the most electable candidate in the field. Even so, Mr. Romney and his rivals are facing an electorate Tuesday that is somewhat more conservative than it was four years ago. About 4 in 10 voters in Mississippi call themselves "very conservative" - if that holds through the night, that would be an increase from 2008, when about a third of Republican primary voters there were very conservative. In Alabama, nearly 4 in 10 describe themselves that way, similar to four years ago. But Mr. Romney still has trouble connecting with voters in the South. When voters Tuesday were asked which candidate best understands the problems of average Americans, preliminary exit polls find Mr. Romney trailing Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum in Alabama, and Mr. Gingrich in Mississippi. - Michael D. Shear and Dalia Sussman The Economy Both Mississippi and Alabama have had economic troubles, with high poverty rates and low income. In Alabama, more than 8 in 10 voters said they were very worried about the direction of the nation's economy in the next few years, and another 1 in 10 voters said they were somewhat worried, according to preliminary exit poll results. The economy was the top issue for nearly 6 in 10 voters in Alabama, while the federal budget deficit mattered most for about a quarter of voters. More than half of voters in Mississippi named the economy as most important in deciding how to vote, while nearly 3 in 10 named the deficit. Alabama's unemployment rate is 7.8 percent, lower than the current national unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. But Alabama has one of the higher poverty rates in the country. Median income was only $40,976 in 2010, ranking it as one of the lowest income states in the country. Mississippi's unemployment rate dropped to 9.9 percent in January, the first time in more than two years that it fell below 10 percent. Nearly a quarter of Mississippi's population lives in poverty, and median income is the lowest in the country, at $37,985. - Allison Kopicki Handling an International Crisis Over the past few weeks, headlines may have reminded voters in Alabama that the president's job goes beyond being merely focused on domestic issues, with a deadly rampage by an American soldier causing furor in Afghanistan, news of Syrian mass killings and Israel's increasing pressure on dealing with Iran's potential nuclear program. The situation in Afghanistan was a reminder of the power of foreign crises to - at least momentarily - divert attention from other issues on the campaign trail. The presidential candidates quickly reacted to the incident and the implications for American war policy. Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum said the incident raised doubts about the future of the mission, while Mr. Romney said on Tuesday that regular reviews of the mission should be part of the president's policy in the future. In Alabama on Tuesday, primary voters were somewhat divided over which candidate would best handle an international crisis. Nearly 4 in 10 said Mr. Gingrich, the former House speaker, would be best at dealing with an international crisis, while about 3 in 10 chose Mr. Romney and 2 in 10 said Mr. Santorum. - Allison Kopicki and Michael D. Shear Tea Party Is Strong in Mississippi and Alabama The Tea Party movement appears to be deeply embedded in both Mississippi and Alabama, with about two-thirds of voters in those states saying they support it and more than half indicating strong support, according to preliminary exit poll results. This following is comparable to what was seen in the Georgia and Oklahoma primaries last week, but not as high as the 75 percent level recorded in Nevada last month. In Mississippi, four in five primary voters identified themselves as Republicans. In neighboring Alabama, however, only two in three voters said they were Republican, a significantly smaller proportion than four years ago in the state, when 78 percent identified as Republicans. That year, voters who identified themselves as Republicans split their votes between the establishment candidate, Senator John McCain, and the social conservative candidate, Mike Huckabee, who won the state on the strength of his support among independents. (Mr. Romney did better among Republicans than independents that year, though he did not win either of the groups.) - David R. Jones David R. Jones is a professor at Baruch College and a polling analyst for The Times.