Primary voting shows GOP enthusiasm edge
Chris Cillizza:
Three-quarters of the way through the 2010 primary season, the so-called "enthusiasm gap" appears to be playing out across the country with turnout in GOP contests exceeding previous highs and beating Democratic turnout by unprecedented margins in many targeted states.He gives a state by state comparison showing the GOP edge. Like me most of them can't wait to vote against Democrats.
Polling has routinely showed Republicans much more enthusiastic about voting in the 2010 election than Democrats. A Gallup poll last week showed twice as many Republicans (46 percent) say they are "very enthusiastic" about voting as Democrats (23 percent).
Raw voter data backs up the polling. A three million-voter advantage for Democrats in the 2006 midterm primaries has turned into a three million-voter overall advantage for the GOP now. And numbers compiled by Republicans show the percentage of voters taking part in GOP primaries has reached a two-decade high in more than half of the 37 states holding primaries so far this year.
There are still more voters voting in the Democratic primary in several major states, but compared to recent years, the GOP is closing the gap significantly even in many of these states.
Much of that advantage could be chalked up to the fact that Republicans have many more competitive primaries, as Democrats did in 2006. But even in states where both parties have held competitive statewide governor or Senate primaries this year, Republicans are taking significantly larger chunks of voters than they have in recent years.
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