Democrats hoped to puncture the longtime Republican dominance in the Dallas suburbs after Barack Obama's presidential win in 2008.
But a suburban GOP resurgence in polls here and beyond appears to have tilted the balance again, suggesting once more that as suburbia goes, so goes the nation.
Voter anger over the economy, Congress and the Obama administration has benefited GOP candidates. In North Texas, that wave appears to have cemented the GOP's suburban supremacy and all but wiped out any groundwork that Democrats laid in 2008.
In places such as Carrollton and Frisco, Duncanville and Mesquite, Democratic yard signs are few and fundraising has dried up, candidates say.
Democratic primary vote totals statewide this year were one-quarter what they were in 2008 – a sizable drop-off even for a midterm election. At the same time, GOP vote totals, fueled by a competitive primary, were higher in March than in the 2008 presidential primary.
[SNIP]
Republican Party strategists said all the ingredients exist for a suburban GOP blowout.
"You're going to have fewer Democrats voting, and you're going to have more independents voting Republican," said Bryan Eppstein, a Fort Worth-based GOP consultant. "The disparity in turnout is going to be overwhelming."
[SNIP]
2010 (midterm)
Democratic: 680,548
Republican: 1,484,542
2008 (presidential)
Democratic: 2,874,986
Republican: 1,362,322
2006 (midterm)
Democratic: 508,602
Republican: 655,919
2004 (presidential)
Democratic: 839,231
Republican: 687,615
2002 (midterm)
Democratic: 1,003,388
Republican: 620,463
2000 (presidential)
Democratic: 786,890
Republican: 1,126,757
I am hearing stories from around Texas and around the country, but I am not sure that anecdotes of Republican leaning polling places attracting more voters than Democrat leaning polling places mean much. I think the actual numbers are what is important...
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Hey now, campaign characters. Be nice. I know a lot of you on both sides, so I don't want any overly foul language, personal attacks on anyone other than the candidates themselves, or other party fouls. I will moderate the heck out of you if you start breaking the bounds of civility.