Comment Rescue – Statewide Primaries are Great for Dem Turnout Overall

Filed in National by on November 18, 2019

Karl Stomberg on a popular social media site said:

In 2018, there were three competitive statewide primaries, and that led to the biggest midterm primary turnout in Delaware history, which was followed by the biggest midterm general turnout in history. When people vote in primaries, they vote in the general, and competitive elections get new people to vote in primaries. What better way to get young people involved in the process than to give them an actual choice on something that matters? People should definitely still be helping out people without primaries (everyone should be knocking for Stephanie Barry for example), but a little competition never hurt our democracy.

(snip)
I can assure you it’s more than a theory. On Laura’s campaign, we had several people who had gotten involved with someone like Kerri or Chris Johnson that probably wouldn’t have gotten involved otherwise. And the primary numbers I believe speak for themselves. In 2014, there was only one serious statewide primary, and Democratic turnout was only 7%. In the general, we ended up losing the treasurer’s seat because of lackluster Democratic engagement.

In 2018, we had historically high turnout in the primaries: 25% for Democrats. And the blue wave that followed flipped a state senate seat, a few state house seats, and turned the treasurer’s seat blue again despite all odds. I think it’s important that we have great groups like DWFI that can stay out of primaries and help Democrats flip seats, but I don’t think we should be trying to push back the energy that new candidates bring to the floor.

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Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (4)

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  1. Alby says:

    I wouldn’t discount anti-Trump sentiment for driving some of that high turnout too.

  2. Faithful Skeptic says:

    So it wasn’t the stunningly weak candidate that the old regime of the DE Dem party put up against Simpler that caused the loss? You know, a REP who had honest experience with numbers opposed by an apparatchik? Simpler went down in a DEM blue wave and good riddance, but absent that and with a DEM who had no experience for the job as a candidate, Simpler would have withstood the challenge.

    IMHO.

    Colleen beat Simpler by 25,000+ votes. She deserved it, she had the experience.

    There really is something to be said for that.

  3. jason330 says:

    Both things are true.

    “When people vote in primaries, they vote in the general, and competitive elections get new people to vote in primaries.”