Florida GOP Turnout Actually Fell From 2008
Underneath tonight’s big win for Mitt Romney in the Florida Republican primary, is a statistic that might suggest enthusiasm is flagging among GOP voters in this large and crucial swing state: turnout was actually down significantly from 2008.
In the 2008 Republican primary in Florida, in which John McCain beat Romney by a margin of 36%-31%, a total of nearly 1.95 million votes were cast.
But in tonight’s primary, turnout was actually much lower. At time of writing, with 98% of precincts reporting, the total turnout is only about 1.65 million — a drop-off of 15% in terms of the raw number of voters.
Romney did increase his own vote total, though. In 2008 he received about 605,000 votes. Tonight, it is up to about 765,000. (One can imagine him combining some of his old votes, with some of McCain’s in 2008, for his strong 46% plurality.)
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/florida-gop-turnout-actually-fell-big-time-from-2008.php
