NEW YORK — Democrat Barack Obama carried New York on Tuesday by running strongly among voters of every race and age and benefiting from strong fears about the economy.

While winning over nearly all black voters in the state, the first black presidential candidate to be nominated by either major party also led among white voters, according to preliminary results from exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.

Voters expressed deep misgivings about Republican John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Asked if Palin was qualified to be president, about a quarter of voters said she was. About three times that said Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Obama’s running mate, was qualified to be president.

Clear majorities of New Yorkers in every age group and income level voted for Obama.

White college graduates voted heavily for Obama, but white non-college graduates split their votes between the Democratic and Republican candidates.

New York City voters backed Obama in overwhelming numbers, and he won clear majorities in the suburbs and upstate urban areas. Rural upstate voters were about evenly split between Obama and McCain.

One in three voters identified themselves as liberals, and almost all of them voted for Obama. Obama also picked up the votes of about seven in 10 moderates and one-fifth of conservatives.

New Yorkers overwhelmingly disapproved of the way President Bush handled his job, and a majority of voters felt that if McCain were elected he would continue Bush’s policies.

Asked how things are going in the country today, most voters said they are going seriously off track.

Fears about the economy weighed heavily. Half of voters said they were very worried the current economic crisis would harm their family’s finances over the next year and another third said they were somewhat worried.

Most voters expressed disapproval of the U.S. war in Iraq.

The exit poll of New York voters was conducted for AP by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in a random sample of 30 precincts statewide. Results were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, higher for subgroups.

Highlights of New York’s exit poll results

RACE AS A FACTOR

Almost all black New Yorkers voted for Democrat Barack Obama, the first black presidential candidate to be nominated by either major party. A clear majority of white voters also preferred Obama to Republican John McCain. Three in four voters said the race of the candidate was not a factor in their vote.

AGE AS A FACTOR

Nearly half of voters said the age of the candidates was a factor, and most of them voted for the 47-year-old Obama over the 72-year-old McCain.

ECONOMIC WORRIES

Most of New York voters said they are worried that the current economic crisis will harm their family’s finances over the next year. A majority of New Yorkers oppose the U.S. government’s $700 billion plan to assist failing financial companies. Most voters said they believed their taxes would go up no matter which candidate was elected.

ANGER AT BUSH, CONGRESS

Lopsided majorities of New York voters said they disapprove of the way President Bush is handling his job and the way Congress is handling its job. Bush’s approval rating in New York was among the lowest of any state. Most New Yorkers said the country is going seriously off track.

The exit poll of 1,594 New York voters was conducted for the AP by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International in a random sample of 30 precincts statewide. Results were subject to sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, higher for subgroups.