Big registration numbers for Dems
Jack Betts and James Romoser take note of recent voter registration trends. From Romoser's Trail Mix blog:
Just 3 percent of the 9,000-plus voters who registered between March 23 and March 29 were Republicans. (Overall, about 34 percent of North Carolina’s voters are registered as Republicans.) Clearly one would expect an influx of Democratic registrations in advance of the contested presidential primary — and other states have seen that trend - but such a large disparity (62 percent vs. 3 percent) is pretty staggering.
I think it's significant though not surprising. The presidential campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have focused on registering new voters and Obama's has in particular become known for turning out new voters. Frankly, there's nothing on the Republican side of the ticket that is as big of a draw and no one on the state level - Republican or Democrat - who has the kind of resources that the two presidential campaigns have just begun to mobilize.
The question for Dems is whether all those new voters will stick with the party in November, presuming at least some of them are going to see their choice for president fall in the primary.
The questions for Republicans is how to match that kind of voter recruitment and enthusiasm.