SEE UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM
For our post-Super Tuesday coverage, let’s compare 2008 turnout to 2012 turnout.
These are the numbers from Virginia Super Tuesday 2012.
 |
 |
| RACE | CANDIDATE | VOTE | VOTE% | STATISTICS | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President
Last Reported: Mar 7 2012 6:04PM EST |
Mitt Romney | 158,098 | 59.54% | Precincts Reporting: 2,586 of 2,586 (100%)Voter Turnout: 265,531 of 4,654,556 active voters (5.704%) 265,531 of 5,155,271 total voters (5.150%) |
Votes by County/CityVotes by DistrictSee History of Changes |
| Ron Paul | 107,433 | 40.45% |
And now, 2008:
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| John McCain | 244,829 | 50.04% | 60 |
| Mike Huckabee | 199,003 | 40.67% | 0 |
| Ron Paul | 21,999 | 4.50% | 0 |
| Mitt Romney* | 18,002 | 3.68% | 0 |
| Fred Thompson* | 3,395 | 0.69% | 0 |
| Rudy Giuliani* | 2,024 | 0.41% | 0 |
| Total | 489,252 | 100% | 60 |
*Candidate suspended campaign prior to this primary
TOTALS:
2008 Virginia Total: 489,252
2012 Virginia Total: 265,531
2008 Fairfax Total: 56 739
2012 Fairfax Total: 39,384
Several questions here – What happened?!?!? Was it the fact that there were only two candidates on the ballot? How is it that we get a lower turnout on a Super Tuesday than in 2008, a bad GOP year, when the VA primary was held after Super Tuesday and McCain had pretty much sealed up the nomination?
I thought Republicans were supposed to be united behind defeating Barack Obama. Remember four years ago when the GOP Brand was in the toilet because of Congress and President Bush? You would think that with President Obama’s approval rating trailing, we could get a bigger (if not the same) turnout this year than compared to four years ago.
I sure hope yesterday’s turnout isn’t a sign of things to come.
This isn’t the only bad news for VA Republicans either. Alexandria City Council candidate Scott Gorden also announced that he is dropping out of the race and endorsing a Democrat.
UPDATE
Check out this map from FCRC. If you notice, Ron Paul did well in areas that have a high minority population, (Herndon, South of Herndon, and Centreville), as well as younger voters (precincts near Fairfax City, meaning GMU students). We could talk about what this might mean all day, but in the very least it is interesting to look at.
