As Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary ratchets up in rhetoric, fundraising and targeted appeals, there’s a sobering reality that can—and has been–determinative. Not that many Dems turn out to vote in non-presidential years. And the costs, of course, can be catastrophic. It’s a big part of why a state can go for both Rick Scott and Barack Obama. The most recent numbers—from the 2014 midterms—are as embarrassing as they are worrisome. Fewer than one in five Dems bothered to vote.
Hopefully the past will no longer be predictably prologue for a democracy and a Democratic Party under siege.