Trump could cause higher turnout in midterms, says analyst

Election analyst Henry Olsen said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “What America’s Thinking” that turnout could be higher in November’s midterm elections, in part because of President Trump. 

“He has attracted passionate loyalty, and passionate antagonism and hatred and love tend to drive people to the polls,” Olsen, a senior fellow at the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha. “We’ll probably see a much higher than normal turnout for the midterms.”

Polling has shown heightened Democratic voter enthusiasm during the Trump administration and ahead of the midterms. 

Sixty-seven percent of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting, compared to 59 percent of Republican voters, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. 

Ipsos research director Mallory Newall said that it’s possible that even more voters will make the decision to vote in the final days before the election.  

“I think it’s possible that turnout’s going to be higher this year for a midterm,” Newall said. 

“If you look back at exit polls in 2016, a lot of people made their decisions two weeks or so, or closer before the election, so I think what’s important is continuing to poll and to listen to voters in the coming weeks as we get close and close to the election,” she said.

— Julia Manchester