CNN data analyst Harry Enten reported on Wednesday that the impending runoff for the GOP may be at the top of the news after Tuesday's primary election in Texas, but there's a huge story in the numbers.
The top takeaway is that the Texas Democratic Primary may not have been close, but it was the highest ever turnout in a primary ever. It was so significant, he said, that Democratic turnout was more than the GOP turnout. However, the state has significantly more Republicans than Democrats.
"We're already up to 2.3 million. And that's only with 92 percent of the estimated vote in that will climb ever higher," said Enten.
The one that came closest was the race between President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008.
"As I said, the word to describe this is tremendous," Enten said.
"It's not just that this 2.3 million is such a large portion, the largest ever for a Texas Senate Democratic primary," he explained. "It's that more people voted in the Democratic Primary than the Republican Primary. Look at this, the share of Texas midterm primary ballots. Look at this 2000s average was less than a million."
In the past, there has been a 3-to-2 ballot selection in Texas primaries, with more choosing the GOP ballot than the Democratic ballot. This election, that changed.
"So far, Democrats, more people are actually choosing the Democratic ballot. This is extremely, extremely unusual," Enten said. It's particularly unusual given there is a highly contested Republican Senate race."
