GOP-affiliated voters outperforming Democrats in key states’ early voting: report

Republican-affiliated voters are outpacing Democratic-affiliated ones in early voting in several states with key elections this fall, according to NBC News.

The news outlet, citing data provided by TargetSmart, reports that Republican-affiliated early voters are exceeding Democratic-affiliated early voters in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee and Texas. 

The only state where Democratic-affiliated voters are outperforming Republicans is in Nevada, according to the eight races for which TargetSmart provided data to the outlet. 

{mosads}Senate races in seven of those states have already begun.

NBC News notes that while the data may show a favorable sign for Republicans, the party normally dominates early voting by absentee ballots. 

Meanwhile, Democrats usually have an advantage when it comes to in-person early voting. 

The data shows that Republican-affiliated voters are far outpacing Democratic ones in states such as Tennessee and Montana. Sixty-three percent of early voters had a Republican affiliation in Tennessee, where former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) are vying to fill Bob Corker’s Senate seat. Thirty percent had a Democratic affiliation. 

In Montana, where Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) is up for re-election, 46 percent of early voters had Republican affiliation while 29 percent had a Democratic affiliation. 

In contrast, in Nevada where GOP Sen. Dean Heller is facing Rep. Jacky Rosen (D), 45 percent of early voters are Democratic and 38 percent are affiliated with the Republican Party. 

The data comes about two weeks before the midterm elections, as Democrats try to seize on opposition to President Trump to retake control of the House and the Senate.

Polls have shown Democrats with a solid chance of earning a majority in the House. On the other hand, Republicans appear to be the favorite to keep control of the Senate. 

More than 5 million votes have been cast early or absentee in the 2018 midterm elections as of Monday, according to NBC News.