The Hill News

A new survey from Public Policy Polling finds that Democrats are now more excited about voting in the 2012 elections than Republicans, a troubling sign for Republican candidates - including presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, who saw depressed turnout as one of the reasons Rick Santorum was able to complete a surprising sweet of the Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado votes Tuesday night.

The poll found that 58 percent of Democrats were "very excited" about voting in November, while 54 percent of Republicans felt the same way. While that gap is marginal, it represents a substantial jump from a version of the poll conducted in late July. Then, only 48 percent of Democrats were "very excited to vote," while Republicans held steady with 54 percent.

In 2010, when Republicans dominated the midterm election and posted huge gains in the House, they held a 18 point lead among "very enthusiastic" voters according to a Gallup poll. Then, only 24 percent of Dem! ocrats described themselves as "very enthusiastic" - less than half of the voters who do so today.

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