Donald Trump has energized Democrats across the country; Republicans, not so much. In deep-red Texas, the difference is making conservative politicians anxious.
Registered Democratic voters are showing up at the polls in bigger number than Republicans for early voting in the state’s primary elections, which started Feb. 20.
Here’s the data up to Feb. 25 for Texas’s 10 most populous counties, from the Texas Secretary of State.
Democrats are also vastly outdoing themselves when compared to their own early voting record four years ago. Turnout was 69% higher by the sixth day of voting in those same counties vs. the same period in 2014.
Republicans, too, are more motivated, but not nearly as much.
Republican governor Greg Abbott has warned fellow conservatives about a potential “liberal wave” in a fund-raising email Monday. The rise in Democrats’ participation so far “should shock every conservative to their core,” he added.
Trump himself is trying to rally the Texan Republican troops.
But Republican concerns of a Democratic takeover may be premature. Though the early voting figures point to a swell of engaged Democratic voters, it’s still a long way till the general election in November. And as big as the increases in Democratic turnout have been, early voters so far represent a sliver of registered Democrats, less than 2%.