Reminder- There were Democrat voters that didn't vote last time because they were complacent and also didn't want to vote for Hillary. Different ball game here...
Reminder---many Republicans stayed home due to personality issues with the President in 2016. They will come out in 2018. Many already have.
Approximately 2 million people voted early of the 7 million approx. registered voters in our state (NC). This is a record number of early voters for a non-presidential election. It should be noted however that the higher level of interest in our state appears to be driven by the six proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot. Earlier in October most of the political commercials on TV were either by PACs for or/against Trump or Pelosi effectively. During the past week we are seeing a large number of candidate ads. Many of the ads from Democratic candidates have been focusing on healthcare as an issue. -- usually trying to claim their Republican opponent is financially supported & aligned with insurance companies and voted to cut healthcare benefits (pre-existing condition coverage, etc.)
Actual the message on turn-out is very mixed in our state. The county which had the highest early turn-out (Lee County) is solidly Republican. Most of the people however appear to be turning out in Lee County to be sure they vote yes on the state constitutional amendment protecting their right to hunt & fish.
Four years ago, according to the board of elections, 18 percent of North Carolina’s 6.6 million registered voters cast their ballots early. This year, 29 percent of voters in the state did so. Overall, 2,038,810 of North Carolina’s 7,067,260 registered voters cast their ballots early. Such a turnout would not be surprising during a presidential election, or one in which there was an especially high-profile statewide race. But this election cycle, however, is representative of what’s known as a “blue moon” election — one without a governor’s race to decide, and also without one of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats at stake. Political analysts and others who follow elections closely have been left to speculate about what has driven the increased early turnout. Gerry Cohen, a Raleigh resident and former special counsel to the N.C. General Assembly, didn’t on Sunday discount the effect of what he described as “angry Democrats” — those who might have been inspired to vote early as a way of protesting President Donald Trump, and the Republican-led Congress. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article221110985.html
Yes... there is lots of speculation. But keep in mind that the huge volume of TV commercials regarding the constitutional amendments. Including every former governor (Democrat and Republican) coming out against two of them. Exit interviews by broadcast media of voters who cast their ballots early seem to indicate that the constitutional amendments were their top issue in the election. We will see how the entire election turns out in our state... interesting to watch.