Politics & Government
2018 Texas Primaries: Democratic Surge Seen In Early Voting
Between 2014 and 2018, the number of people voting on Democratic ballots more than doubled in four North Texas counties.
Democrats in North Texas (and statewide) are showing significant strides in the effort to catch up with Republicans — at least in early voting. Across the region, the number of Democratic voters turning out to the polls in early voting has at least doubled since 2014 in Dallas, Collin, Tarrant and Denton Counties.
Republican early voting totals mostly held consistent between the 2014 and 2018 primaries, but Democratic votes in Denton County went from 4,079 to 15,033 while Collin County totals increased from 5,331 to 19,895 (an almost 400 percent increase) and those in Dallas County went from 34,815 to 69,844.
Tarrant County Democrats peaked at more than 44,000 voters in 2016. That number has since dropped by about 6,000 voters, but turnout still totaled some 16,000 more votes in 2018 than in 2014.
Find out what's happening in Dallasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
| Total Registered Voters (2018) | Republican Voters | Democrat Voters |
| Dallas County — Total: 1,284,089 | 40,487 | 69,844 |
| Collin County — Total: 551,400 | 40,621 | 19,895 |
| Tarrant County — Total: 1,095,458 | 55,711 | 38,731 |
| Denton County — Total: 475,203 | 27,986 | 15,033 |
Numbers between 2016 and 2018 did not increase as dramatically as they did following the previous primary election, but a marked increase of around 12,000 voters was seen in Dallas County, while Collin and Denton counties saw an increase of around 2,000 voters. Tarrant County, however, saw a decrease in early voting democrats between 2016 and 2018. The number of voters dropped by just over 2,000.
The 2016 primaries did, however, see a spike of some 20,000 Republican voters in Dallas. The spike that occurred between 2014 and 2016 did not continue into 2018, and voter turnout among Republicans in the county dropped back down by the same 20,000 by 2018.
Find out what's happening in Dallasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
| Total Registered Voters (2016) | Republican Voters | Democrat Voters |
| Dallas County — Total: 1,217,771 | 64,274 | 57,436 |
| Collin County — Total: 500,059 | 59,739 | 17,662 |
| Tarrant County — Total: 1,019,633 | 95,088 | 44,308 |
| Denton County — Total: 429,934 | 46,298 | 13,420 |
Here's where things get particularly interesting. The 2014 primaries saw, generally speaking, a the same number of Republican voters as the 2018 primaries saw (Dallas County, as previously mentioned, was the exception.) But Democrat numbers in this year were dismal, with an average of 1.40 percent of registered voters voted on Democratic ballots. In comparison, around 3.80 percent of registered voters in the same four counties voted on Republican ballots.
| Total Registered Voters (2014) | Republican Voters | Democrat Voters |
| Dallas County — Total: 1,217,771 | 43,745 | 34,815 |
| Collin County — Total: 500,059 | 27,669 | 5,331 |
| Tarrant County — Total: 1,019,633 | 52,719 | 22,621 |
| Denton County — Total: 429,934 | 23,210 | 4,079 |
The massive Democratic turnout was apparent statewide, and it clearly had Texas Governor Greg Abbott worried. In an email to supporters this week, he noted "We've seen a surge of liberal enthusiasm in deep red states like Georgia, Alabama, and Oklahoma. We had always hoped the liberal wave would never hit Texas, but these early voting returns aren't encouraging so far."
Click here to read about the statewide impact of early voting among Democrats.
Lead image via Shutterstock/Damir Sencar
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