Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain claimed early victories in Kentucky, West Virginia and South Carolina, while Democratic rival Barack Obama took Vermont, television networks projected, as polls began closing in the Eastern part of the country.

Four of the election battleground states that have closed polling stations so far, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, remained too close to call based on initial returns, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC said.

Virginia especially is serving as a bellwether in 2008. After supporting Republican candidates in every presidential race since 1964, the state's voters leaned toward Obama in pre- election polls.

``If he wins Virginia, he is likely to be doing well elsewhere,'' said John Fortier, a research fellow at Washington's American Enterprise Institute who wrote a book about the U.S. Electoral College.

Sixty-two percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue in the election, according to exit poll data released by CNN. The Iraq war, a top issue when the presidential campaign started almost two years ago, was cited by 10 percent of voters as the biggest concern.

Heavy Turnout

Election officials were forecasting a heavy turnout. Long lines at the polls meant waits as much as seven hours in some areas, including precincts in Virginia.

McCain pulled into an early lead in Virginia, 56 percent to 43 percent, with four percent of precincts reporting. Early returns indicated a close race in Indiana. McCain had 52 percent of the vote there to Obama's 47 percent with about 15 percent of precincts reporting.

In Kentucky, with 16 percent reporting, McCain was ahead 55 percent to 43 percent.

The states that have been called so far stuck to the party lines from the last election; Vermont went for Democrat John Kerry in 2004, and Kentucky, West Virginia and South Carolina backed Republican President George W. Bush.

They give Obama three electoral votes and McCain 21 if the projections hold. A candidate needs 270 to win.

Georgia and South Carolina have also closed their polls, as have Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia. In 2004, Ohio and its 20 electoral votes remained too close to call for most networks until Kerry conceded the next day. For McCain, it's critical: No Republican has ever won the White House without claiming Ohio.

It was too early to call the contest in those states. The next round of poll closing also will be in a raft of battleground states: Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

``It is nearly impossible for McCain to win without winning Ohio, Virginia, and Florida,'' Fortier said. Bush won all three in 2004, ending up with 286 electoral votes. Pre-election polls for this year's race showed Obama leading in Ohio and Virginia, while Florida was a toss-up between the two candidates.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net; Catherine Dodge in Washington at cdodge1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2008 19:56 EST