It looks like the Democrats are still much more energized than the Republicans here in Texas -- at least in the 15 largest counties in the state. Here are the cumulative voting totals in those counties through the first six days of early voting (February 19-24).
COUNTY................DEM..............REP
Harris...................66,756...........23,851
Dallas...................49,485...........13,770
Tarrant.................35,144...........14,416
Bexar...................42,198...........14,033
Travis...................36,890...........7,396
Collin...................15,155...........9,756
El Paso..................23,794...........4,406
Denton.................11,180............6,348
Hidalgo.................25,564............1,494
Fort Bend..............13,581............7,344
Montgomery...........5,265.............7,165
Williamson.............8,708.............4,852
Nueces.................9,106.............2,090
Galveston..............7,563.............2,346
Cameron...............9,870.............966
TOTAL.................360,259...........120,233
There are several different forces at play here. First and foremost, the Democratic race is much closer than the GOP race, although that's changing somewhat (at least in Texas); in one poll, Huckabee has pulled to within 4 percent of McCain. Notwithstanding this news, most Republicans don't think their primary vote will change much, one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, Democrats have the opportunity to cast an historic vote no matter who they vote for -either a woman or an African-American. For Republicans, the choice is between a younger or an older white guy.
Thirdly, Obama-mania has taken Texas by storm, like the rest of the country. Enthusiasm for Huckabee is also strong, but not nearly so widespread. Those Republicans who are voting for McCain are doing it more out of a sense of duty than conviction.
Fourthly, some Republicans are actually registering as Democrats at the polls in order to vote for Hillary and mess with the Democratic race. Rush Limbaugh (and perhaps others) have encouraged this action, but I disapprove of it personally. I've been waiting for months to be able to cast my vote for Huckabee, and I did just that during lunch today.