I found something pretty interesting when I looked at some numbers for the last few midterm elections. To put things in perspective, I went back several election cycles. Here's a timeline with their results:
2000 Presidential Election: Bush is elected president.
(55.3% voter turnout rate)
2002 Midterm Election: Republicans in the House get 37.3 million votes.
Democrats in the House get 33.8 million votes.
(40.5% voter turnout rate)
2004 Presidential Election: Bush wins second term.
(60.7% voter turnout rate)
2006 Midterm Election: Republicans in the House get 35.9 million votes. (-4% more votes compared to the last midterm)
Democrats in the House get 42.3 million votes. (25% more votes compared to the last midterm)
(41.3% voter turnout rate)
2008 Presidential Election: Obama is elected president.
(62.2% voter turnout rate)
2010 Midterm Election: Republicans in the House get 44.8 million votes. (25% more votes compared to the last midterm)
Democrats in the House get 39 million votes. (-8% more votes compared to the last midterm)
(41.8% voter turnout rate)
2012 Presidential Election: Obama wins second term.
(58.6% voter turnout rate)
2014 Midterm Election: Republicans in the House get 40.1 million votes. (-11% more votes compared to the last midterm)
Democrats in the House get 35.6 million votes. (-9% more votes compared to the last midterm)
(36.7% voter turnout rate)
2016 Presidential Election: Trump is elected president.
(60.1% voter turnout rate)
2018 Midterm Election: Republicans in the House get 50.9 million votes (27% more votes compared to the last midterm)
Democrats in the House get 60.6 million votes. (70% more votes compared to the last midterm)
(50.3% voter turnout rate)
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Look at the percentage increase by both parties in the last midterm election. Look at the voter turnout in 2018 compared to all of the other midterm elections. I think it's fair to say that Trump energized both sides to show up. The numbers on the Democrat side are staggering at a 70% increase. Again, that's in a
midterm election.
What do you make of these numbers?
Simply put, I think Trump has gotten the attention of a lot of eligible voters who were otherwise uninterested in politics in the past. And a lot of these previously uninterested voters absolutely hate Trump. I think Republicans woke up a sleeping giant.
Voter Turnout Data - United States Elections Project