LAS VEGAS — John McCain is the presidential choice of a plurality of members of the National Grocers Association who attended Tuesday's opening general session of NGA's 26th annual convention here. Voting by hand-held devices, 42% of the audience said they would vote for McCain if the election were being held that day, compared with 32% who said they preferred Mitt Romney; 15% who preferred Barack Obama; 11% for Hillary Clinton; and 9% for Mike Huckabee. Asked which of five areas was the No. 1 issue facing the next president, 53% of attendees cited the economy; 19% cited the war in Iraq; 11% cited health care; 10% named homeland security; and 8% named immigration. During the half-hour preceding the start of the opening session, four screens in the massive ballroom projected a feed from CNN broadcasting Super Tuesday election results. During the session all three guest speakers — Tony Snow, former White House press secretary; Tom Daschle, former Senate majority leader; and Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International — said they expect McCain to win the Republican nomination, but none was willing to predict which Democrat would be nominated.

Read More of Today's Headlines