The primary returns are not all in on election night as I write, and the big (or small) headlines will come from the results in Kansas and Michigan. But one thing I notice from the results coming in from Missouri is about turnout.

Missouri has no race for senator or governor this year, which is to say no high-visibility statewide contest to bring voters to the polls. It’s one of one only five states — Indiana, North Dakota, Utah and Washington are the others — with no such statewide contests. My hypothesis is that turnout in Missouri, in such routine and mostly not seriously contested races, should be a reasonably good indicator of relative partisan enthusiasm in a state which is at least somewhat representative of a large part — not a dominant part, but a large part — of the country.