Early voting for the Texas primary election concludes this week, and while the turnout thus far hasn't been overwhelming, there has been one notable surprise here in Houston. Typically, Democrat voters like to vote early, but so far it has been Republicans who are leading the charge.
"Right now where we're at is, about close to 45,000 Republicans have voted in Harris County, and around 39,000 Democrats, so we're looking at about a 5,000 voter spread" said Genevieve Carter, communications director with the Harris County Republican party, "I think we're going to see a significant uptick in turnout over the next few days."
Unfortunately, voters from both sides have a lot to be upset about. Inflation is at a 40-year high, the economy is a mess, crime is out of control, the Covid controls are ridiculous, and we have become more divided than ever. The 'red wave' is upon us.
"We've seen a lot of momentum already, and I think that has definitely helped bring folks out to the polls, and I think we'll continue to see that" Carter told KTRH, "We're excited, there's a high energy among our party right now, and it's not just nationally, and it's not just in certain states. We're seeing it here too, right here in Houston."
As for Fort Bend County, similar results thus far according to administrator John Oldham. "It doesn't seem heavy to us, but through the first week it was running well above the pace of March of 2018. In person, we've had over 11,000 Republicans, and over 9,000 Democrats."
But on the heels of the 2020 election, there has been one difference for the Democrats. The desire to vote by mail.
"We've had very few Republicans apply for ballot by mail, but we've had lots of Democrats" Oldham told KTRH, "The Democrats numbers are heavy, while the Republicans are very lite."
Voting by mail worked out pretty well for the Democrats in 2020, so it's not a surprise that they would hope to do it again. Early voting ends on Friday, with the primary election set for March 1.
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