Republicans outperform Democrats in first day of early voting in Clark, cut registration edge in half

Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 | 7:38 a.m.

That is, the GOP has sliced into the Democratic lead in the most populous county, almost halving it if both early and mail ballots are tallied:

Here are the raw numbers after Day One:

Early voting: Democrats (8,062), Republicans (6,468), rest (2,536)

Absentees to date: Democrats (4,008), Republicans (3,758), rest (1,172)

Totals: Democrats (12,070), Republicans (10,226), rest (3,708)

So what do these numbers mean?

Actual registration in Clark: 46 percent Democrats, 33 percent Republicans

Early and absentees after first day: 46 percent Democrats, 39 percent Republicans -- Just early numbers: 47-38.

So Democrats are holding their registration numbers, but Republicans turned out 6 percent above theirs.

This is the trend to watch, perhaps a good measurement of the enthusiasm gap.