Article snippet: Texans have set a record for early voting in a non-presidential primary election year, the Laredo Morning Times reported Friday. More than 602,000 voters have cast ballots in the largest counties through Wednesday. That total includes votes cast in both Democratic and Republican primaries, with more ballots cast buy Democrats than Republicans. It does not count ballots that were cast on Thursday or Friday, the last day of voting. It's the first time in a decade, when For the last two gubernatorial election cycles, Republicans surpassed Democrats in the primaries by over 100,000 votes each year, the Laredo Morning Times reported. MORE. It's result in a large number of Texas Democrats running for office, a development that has also been seen in other states. “If you want to compare Democratic turnout to Democratic turnout, it is climbing exponentially this year,” Ed Espinoza, the executive director of the Democratic-leaning Progress Texas, told The Hill. “You can’t underestimate the surge that we’re seeing out there with the blue wave coming. Harris County, where Houston resides, also saw a new record on Wednesday. More than 116,000 people voted early or through the mail - 59,048 Democrats and 57,108 Republicans - up from just 105,508 in 2014. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. Link to the full article to read more