Some idiosyncratic observations on the elections so far

Herewith some idiosyncratic, perhaps eccentric, observations on the electoral contests so far in this presidential cycle.

1. Turnout is down. In the first five contests — the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan primaries — Republican turnout was down 7% from 2016, the most recent cycle with serious contests. That’s based on precincts currently reporting and the ace New York Times number crunchers’ estimates of as-yet uncounted votes.