Dem
48
Ties
1
GOP
51
There are plenty of horse-race polls, and we report on them daily, but sometimes other polls are also interesting. In particular, for years Gallup has been asking voters: "Are you more enthusiastic about voting this year than in past years?" With so much data, comparisons are possible. This year, Democratic enthusiasm is through the roof, with 78% of respondents saying they are more enthusiastic about voting than in the past. With Republicans, it is only 64%, Enthusiasm usually translates into high turnout from the party's base. Here is a graph of enthusiasm since 2000:
The current Democratic enthusiasm is the highest ever recorded for either party for a general election, even more than it was to elect Barack Obama in 2008. This almost certainly means Democrats are enthusiastic about having someone to vote for, not just someone to vote against, and could be a predictor or a very high turnout and a blue wave. The only time enthusiasm was slightly higher (79%) was during the 2008 Democratic primary. Republican enthusiasm has never been above 70%. (V)