Neil Blake | MLive.com

Voters are fired up.

Almost 2.2 million Michigan voters cast a ballot in Tuesday's election, smashing the previous August primary record of 1.7 million votes cast in 2002.

So what can we read into that?

Here's a deeper dive into the numbers, based on data from the Michigan Secretary of State website.

10 takeaways from Tuesday's primary

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You can click on any county to see the underlying data

About 29% of registered voters cast a ballot Tuesday

This map provides a county-by-county breakdown of turnout based on the percent of registered voters in July. You can click on any county to see the underlying data.

One big caveat: The number of registered voters isn't always an accurate measure because Michigan law makes it difficult to remove names from voting lists. Moreover, some election clerks are more aggressive than others about updating the voter rolls.

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A surge of Democratic voters

Participation in Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary was up 113% compared to August 2010, the last time Michigan had an open governor's seat and a contested primary in both parties.

The above map reflects the percentage change in Democratic ballots on Tuesday compared to August 2010. The darker the blue, the bigger the increase. (The purple county is Iron, the lone county to see a decrease.) You can click on a county to see the underlying data.

The statewide numbers: In 2010, 528,822 ballots were cast for Democrats Virg Bernero against Andy Dillon. In 2018, 1,124,981 voted for Gretchen Whitmer, Abdul El-Sayed or Shri Thanedar.

That's more than a doubling of the Democratic numbers compared to 2010, when Republicans enjoyed a wave election two years after the election of President Obama.

The counties with the biggest increases: Grand Traverse, Ottawa, Branch, Charlevoix, St. Joseph, Emmet and Kent, all of which saw the number of Democratic voters at least triple.

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GOP gubernatorial primary ballots down 6% compared to 2010

The number of ballots cast in the GOP gubernatorial primary was down 6% Tuesday compared to August 2010.

The above map shows the change in the number of ballots cast in the Republican gubernatorial primary in August 2010 compared to Tuesday. Counties shaded red experienced an increase; purple counties experienced a decrease. You can click on a county to see the underlying data.

The statewide numbers: In 2010, 1,048,384 cast a ballot in the Republican gubernatorial primary, when Rick Snyder defeated Mike Bouchard, Mike Cox, Peter Hoekstra and Tom George. On Tuesday, 983,952 voted in the four-way race between Bill Schuette, Brian Calley, Patrick Colbeck and Jim Hines.

Of Michigan's 83 counties, 37 saw a decline and 46 saw an increase -- although the counties with a decline tended to be the more populated counties.

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Number of Democratic vs. Republican ballots on Tuesday

Another way to look at the numbers: 53% of 2018 primary votes for governor were for Democratic candidates compared to 33% in August 2010.

However, those Democratic voters tended to be concentrated in urban areas. Of Michigan's 83 counties, only 14 had more Democratic voters than Republicans in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary.

This map shows the ballots cast for Democrats vs. Republicans on Tuesday in the governor's race. You can click on a county to see the underlying data.

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The vote breakdown in the 2016 presidential election

Although we've been contrasting Tuesday's results to the August 2010 vote to provide a more apples-to-apples comparison, here's a look at the map based on votes in the November 2016 presidential election, when Michigan went narrowly for President Trump.

Once again, you can click on a county to see the underlying data.

Notice there are six counties that went for Trump in 2016 that, on Tuesday, saw more Democratic than Republican ballots. Those six counties: Macomb, Bay, Leelanau, Houghton, Gogebic and Alger.

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MLive file photo

What are the takeaways?

Mark Grebner, a Democratic strategist who heads Practical Political Consulting in Lansing, said Tuesday's results are basically good news for Democrats in November.

Considering Democrats historically have lower turnout than Republicans in midterm elections, it's "impressive" that 53% of voters in the gubernatorial primary voted Democratic, Grebner said.

"It's been clear we've been seeing a Democratic tide across the country" in recent months, Grebner said. "Now we're seeing it here."

The "blue shift" is particularly pronounced in affluent, college-educated communities, Grebner said. It's not a coincidence that Kent, Ottawa, Grand Traverse, Emmet and Livingston were among the counties with the biggest surge in Democratic ballots.

"The biggest thing is this election is that it shows the Democrats are motivated and some Republicans are coming to our side," Grebner said.

While some of the shift can be attributed to antipathy towards Trump, Grebner noted that similar shifts have occurred in the past during midterm elections when voters become disenchanted with the party in power.

"It's a classic shift we see in politics," he said.

While that creates a favorable environment for Democrats in November, Grebner said the "blue wave" isn't inevitable.

"The Democratic Party at the state and national level is so incompetent that we could blow this," he said. "But at least we have a chance."