John McCain won yesterday’s primary in Virginia, where a Huckabee victory would have raised another round of questions about what team McCain has claimed is its lock on the nomination. But McCain’s win was none too sweet. First there was the turnout issue; today’s Washington Post notes that the Arizona Senator isn’t exactly inspiring Republicans to flock to the polls:

Turnout among Republicans lagged historic numbers among their Democratic counterparts. In Virginia, almost twice as many Democrats voted in their primary than Republicans did in theirs.

The Virginia primary also marked another colossal failure for McCain to win “values voters”–you know, the base of the Republican Party.

Maryland and Virginia voters who said their most important issue was choosing a candidate who shared their values preferred Huckabee by about 2 to 1. He also won big among evangelical voters and among those who call themselves very conservative.

According to Virginia exit polls, McCain lost pro-lifers and evangelicals to Huckabee by wide margins. The GOP’s religious rift grows wider.

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