612,000 more Republicans than Democrats voted in Florida

[davidn3600]

There are still some votes being counted...but as of right now..
Number of Republicans voted: 2,272,612
Number of Democrats voted: 1,659,605

It's the theme every single one of these primaries..... Democratic turnout is down, Republican turnout is up. To just brush this off is avoiding reality. The Republicans are more fired up than we are.

[Skittles]

1. when you shine a light, the cockroaches go running

currently they are running to the polls to vote for Trump

[JimDandy]

2. And it was a closed primary. So those numbers are pure Dems vs Repubs. n/t

[RandySF]

3. People are attracted to bloodsports.

[onenote]

4. And history demonstrates this is meaningless in the GE

Sometimes the party with higher primary turnout wins. Sometimes, as in 1988, the party with the higher primary turnout gets its ass kicked.

There are many factors that decide a GE. The turnout in the primaries is near the bottom in terms of importance.

In fact, in the past 5 elections that did not involve an incumbent who was essentially unopposed for the nomination, the party with higher turnout in the primaries has won twice, lost twice and, in 2000, it was basically a tie (the party with the higher primary turnout lost the national popular vote but won, thanks to the Supreme Court, the electoral vote.

But people continue to wring their hands over the primary turnout as if it and it alone determines the outcome of the GE.

[napi21]

5. Do you think a lot of Dem voters are voting in the Pub party to make sure Trump is our

opposition? I've only heard a few callers on talk radio say they were doing that, but I think it's possible that's what this great increase in Pub voters might be.

I guess I'm wrong. I just noticed there's another post above this one that says it was a closed primary. So much for my theory.

[Jim Beard]

17. I voted for Trump in Texas

I don't have to declare a party when I register. Will be voting for the Democratic nominee to beat Trump this fall.

[brooklynite]

6. In the 2008 Primary there was a Democratic surge at the prospect of replacing GWB....

In the 2-16 Primary, there's a Republican surge at the prospect of replacing Barack Obama...

I'm not worried about the GE...ESPECIALLY with Trump as the nominee.

[redstateblues]

7. Just wait til the GE

That will change. The Rs have been driving up their numbers trying to stop trump. A lot of Rs will hold their noses and vote for the Dem.

[davidn3600]

9. You are making some big assumptions here

...especially since the polls have not really suggested what you are saying is true.

Keep in mind that although Florida went for Obama twice, it also elected Rick Scott twice. This is a very purple state regardless of what any polls or registration numbers say.

[hay rick]

8. This in a state where Dems have a 300,000+ registration advantage.

I have to wonder, though, if the Republican turnout is driven by enthusiasm or by fear. I think a huge number of Republicans view Trump as a catastrophically bad nominee. Their problem up to this point is that there have been too many candidates splitting up the anti-Trump vote. Now that the field is down to three, that could change. If the Republicans are not stupid, they will use a brokered convention to arrive at a Kasich-Rubio ticket.

[Jim Beard]

18. I was a Democratic party County Chairman and we always had low primary voters because there

were no or very few contested races. They turned out during the General election

[hay rick]

19. In my area, Democratic turnout runs consistently behind Republican turnout.

In 2014, the margin was 68% vs. 55% in the general election. We need to do a lot better this year.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

10. They are exceptionally angry. But also, Florida is hardcore Trump country.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

11. I wouldn't read too much into it.

There may be many Dems who don't care who their nominee is and will just show up to vote against Trump or the GOP candidate. Trump has just tapped into a certain segment of the far right that will help him in the primary. His rhetoric, though, will cost him in the general. Also, since Florida is a closed primary, there are a lot of independents that would have voted for a certain Democratic candidate, but couldn't.

With all the latino voters, I think Trump will have a hard time winning FL.

[tritsofme]

12. The Democratic contest was far less competitive, lower turnout is not surprising.

It has been clear that Hillary would be the nominee for several years, the race only ended up drawing B-list opponents. While it narrowed much more than Team Clinton would have preferred, the widely held perception that she would be the nominee never faded.

It is sort of similar to an incumbent president like Obama in 2012 who faced no challenger and saw extremely tiny turnout. No one said this was an ominous sign for the party in November. Settled races draw less interest.

[pstokely]

15. establishment Dems don't hate Bernie as much as establishment Repukes hate Drumpf

how many of Drumpf's supporters didn't vote for Mittens in 2012?

[geomon666]

13. The Florida electorate sucks.

We don't show up for midterms or primaries, that's just the way it is.

[Sunlei]

14. over a million Rs "early voted' in Florida. wonder if those early votes were for the quitter Bush?

Is there anyway to tell where 'early votes'-"mail-in" votes come from and who they were for?

[Sam_Fields]

16. I wonder if Christie wants the Attorney General post?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

20. Outside the DU (GD:P) bubble, the Democratic race has been viewed as civil and restrained.

It's not getting the mad attention that the Republicans have. It's business as usual, so it's passing some folks by.

Once the Democratic nominee takes on the Republican nominee, it's a whole new ballgame. Especially if that Republican nominee is Trump.