Interest in the midterm elections is surging, according to numbers from Tuesday's election day.
Numbers included in official results from Tuesday's elections show that interest is up in the midterm races locally among both Republicans and Democrats, as Potter and Randall County saw increased turnout in both primaries. Numbers looked especially good for Democrats in both counties, who experienced almost a 100 percent increase in voter turnout in their primary contest, versus the primary from four years ago.
In Potter County, turnout among both parties is up. This year, 7,878 Republicans cast ballots in the race for governor in Potter County, resulting in about 15 percent turnout among the County's 54,328 voters. This number is up from the 7,151 voters who cast ballots in the 2014 primary race, which saw Greg Abbott win his first nomination for the spot he now holds.
Randall County Republicans also saw increased turnout, with 16,613 Randall Republicans casting ballots in this year's race for governor. That number accounts for about a 20 percent turnout county-wide and is up from the 13,561 Republicans who voted in the governor's race in 2014.
Democrats also saw strong turnout numbers, including almost doubling turnout in both counties. In Potter County, 1,492 Democrats voted in this year's primary for governor, up from the 810 voters who cast ballots in 2014. This accounted for about 3 percent turnout county-wide.
Meanwhile in Randall County, 1,743 Democrats cast ballots in the race for governor this year. This number is up from the 909 voters who cast ballots in that race four years ago, and accounts for about 2 percent total turnout for the county.
Voters are not done yet, however, as several races are still left to be decided in the May 22nd runoff. Local Republicans will decide several judicial contests, while Democrats statewide will decide their race for governor between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White.
For voting information, please visit votetexas.gov.
