The challenge for Florida Democrats is that they’re starting behind. More than 2.2 million Floridians took advantage of early and absentee voting, and here’s the partisan breakdown of turnout:
GOP: |
1,102,090 |
DEM: |
825,103 |
OTHER: |
322,959 |
Republicans have a turnout advantage of 276,987 ballots before the polls even close. For comparison, here’s how the GOP has fared at early and absentee voting in previous elections:
2010: |
276,987 |
2008: |
-354,374 |
2006: |
147,019 |
Keep in mind that this is a state where the GOP is at an overall numbers disadvantage. There are, as of the latest registration numbers, 591,809 more Democrats than Republicans. Enthusiasm gap, indeed.