Jamelle Bouie says Democratic voters have never been that thrilled about voting in midterm elections, and there isn’t much the president can do to change that.
True, there is a large enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans. According to Gallup’s late September polling, only 28 percent of Democrats are enthusiastic about their party’s candidates in the midterm elections, compared with 47 percent of Republicans. This isn’t just a blip in the polls; since March, the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats hasn’t dipped below 10 points. But when it comes to explaining that gap, the president’s critics have gotten it all wrong. It’s not because of the administration’s failure to deliver on Obama’s campaign promises. Rather, the people who make up the Democratic base have always been less likely to vote in midterm elections than their Republican counterparts.
