Republican Voter Enthusiasm Advantage Halved In Past Month: Gallup

Republican registered voters' enthusiasm about voting in midterm elections this fall has dropped precipitously during the past month, cutting their enthusiasm advantage over Democrats almost in half, according to new Gallup polling data.

As Gallup's Jeffrey Jones notes, registered voter party preferences remain in a statistical dead heat, so voter enthusiasm is a key measurement of likely election results -- and Republicans historically have higher turnout. But the GOP's current 10-point enthusiasm advantage is at its lowest ebb since Gallup began polling "2010 election attitudes" in March.

A month ago, shortly after the passage of health care reform and not long before taxes were due, some 54 percent of registered Republican voters told Gallup they were "very enthusiastic" about voting. Now that number is back down to 43 percent, about the same as it was before health reform passed.