7:39 p.m. -- Exit polls out

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Exit polls show Missourians are more
positive about President Bush's job performance and the merits of
the war in Iraq than the nation as a whole.
But Associated Press exit polling today also found Missouri
voters still disapprove of both, and that slightly less than half
of those surveyed approved of Bush's performance.
On Iraq, the exit poll indicated a slight majority of
Missourians appeared to disapprove of the war. Six in ten voters
across the nation disapprove.
Polling suggested the U.S. Senate race in Missouri was being
decided in the suburbs of St. Louis and Kansas City, where the
candidates were nearly evenly split. Republican incumbent Jim
Talent ran strongest in Missouri's small towns and rural areas.
Democrat Claire McCaskill did best in the cities.
The poll of 1,623 voters was conducted for the AP and
television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky
International.
Results were subject to sampling error of plus or minus four
percentage points, higher for subgroups. Nationally, four in ten
respondents approved.