---
title: The Two-Party Primary That Never Had a Crowd
author: P. Vela
date: 2026-09-07
kicker: Politics
subject: politics
template: article
excerpt: Voter lists up, enthusiasm down — how the ground shifted anyway.
---

Voter lists up, enthusiasm down — how the ground shifted anyway. The primaries drew record registrations but the smallest crowds in memory, and both outcomes are true at once.

Organizers blame the calendar; political scientists blame the weather; the poll workers blame their feet. Nobody is entirely wrong.