In the final weeks of the campaign, there are no signs that the large engagement gap favoring the Republican Party has narrowed. Far more Republicans than Democrats say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in this year’s congressional election (61% vs. 41%); Republican voters are also eight points more likely to say they are following campaign news “very closely” (39% vs. 31%). On many measures, the Republican engagement in 2010 is surpassing long-term records. Fully 70% of Republicans have given a lot of thought to this election, the highest figure recorded among either Republicans or Democrats over the past five midterm election cycles. And the differential between Republicans and Democrats is larger than ever previously recorded. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.