NC Democrats report unprecedented surge in meeting turnout and Republicans are adding volunteers

North Carolina Democrats have seen sharply higher turnouts for local meetings and other party events this year, as opponents of President Donald Trump and the GOP legislature get more politically active.

The N.C. Democratic Party released numbers showing that 16,187 people have attended precinct organizational meetings this year – a 45 percent increase over last year’s turnout of 11,202 in a presidential election year, typically the time of greatest engagement. Those increases have been reported in liberal urban counties as well as more conservative rural counties.

“The N.C. Democratic Party has seen an unprecedented surge in enthusiasm since Election Day, and there’s no evidence of it stopping anytime soon,” party chairman Wayne Goodwin said. “It has been inspiring and incredible how many people are attending their very first precinct meeting or county convention.”

The unusually high level of interest in party politics isn’t limited to Democrats. The N.C. Republican Party is also reporting increased turnout at precinct meetings and county meetings. Executive director Dallas Woodhouse says the number of people active enough to qualify as state convention delegates is up 10 percent.

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