Turnout Is At Presidential Levels In County That Could Decide Which Party Wins The House

In more news that should worry Republicans, MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff reported on Monday night that turnout is at presidential levels in a California county that could decide which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to the MSNBC reporter, Orange County, California is the fifth largest jurisdiction in the country – and it has four toss-up congressional races.

“There may not be another election jurisdiction that has two toss-up districts in it, much less four,” Soboroff reported. “The turnout is at presidential levels, almost three-quarters of a million votes.”

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Soboroff reported:

It’s the fifth largest election jurisdiction in the entire country. I don’t think there is — there may not be another election jurisdiction that has two toss-up districts in it, much less four. Neal Kelley, the guy who is the registrar here has been on the job almost 15 years. He says he has never seen anything like it. The turnout is at presidential levels, almost three-quarters of a million votes – a million would be presidential levels. Frankly, the guy just seems shocked but he seems really prepared for what’s gonna go down.

The more people who vote, the better Democrats do

The reason that Republicans should be concerned about high turnout is that, historically, the more people who vote, the better Democrats do.

That’s why in close races all across the country – from Georgia to Kansas to North Dakota – Republican officials are working tirelessly to make voting harder for those who are most likely to vote Democratic. But in some ways, that might be motivating Democrats even more.

In 2014, we saw the lowest election turnout in 70 years and Republicans did well. So far in 2018, we have seen a surge in early voting in key states, particularly among young voters.

While none of this is guaranteed to translate into Democratic victories, it should worry Republicans – especially in Orange County, California, a place that could decide the fate of the House of Representatives.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.