Democratic Primary Turnout Hits 20-Year Highs

"The big news is that Democrats are getting huge turnouts," said David Axelrod, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama. "That's been a steady story throughout this period."

The honest caveat comes from Corwin Smidt, a political science professor at Michigan State University, who called the numbers a "good sign for Democrats" but cautioned that primary turnout is "not a very solid predictor" of how voters break in November. He pointed to high turnout in recent elections creating a larger pool of habitual voters — "voting is a lot of habit-forming" — and to what he called "media spotlight candidacies" in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, all of which held marquee progressive-versus-moderate races in August.

Republicans say the comparison is meaningless. "Primary turnout doesn't win general elections," said Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "House Republicans are entering November with the money, momentum, stronger candidates and a battle-tested operation built to turn out voters when it actually counts."

Michigan GOP spokesman Ted Goodman said the party "will close the enthusiasm gap by highlighting the massive differences between our nominees and the extreme, out-of-touch politicians the Democrats have nominated. It's one thing to lead in enthusiasm before we know who is running. Now, the differences are clear."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who backed El-Sayed and Minnesota Senate nominee Peggy Flanagan but did not endorse Hong, said he expects Democrats to close ranks. "At the end of the day, when it comes to taking on Trump and creating a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, there is going to be unity, because I think everybody knows how important that is."