The statewide polls were conducted for the National Election Pool consortium among 1,914 Democratic voters and 1,472 Republican voters after a record 514,000 people turned out.

It found approximately four in 10 Democratic voters cited the economy as the most important issue, while three in 10 named the war in Iraq and another three in 10 said healthcare, the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

Among Republicans, voters were almost evenly divided in naming the economy, the Iraq war, terrorism and illegal immigration as their top concerns, the report said.

The NEP poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points, the report said.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY., won the Democratic nod, having based much of her early campaign as being best qualified to overhaul the healthcare system, while Republican winner Sen. John McCain of Arizona won most votes among those most concerned about the economy, the report said.