Jon Ossoff benefited from an unusually strong turnout in the first round of voting in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District last week, surpassing all recent benchmarks for Democratic turnout in an off-year election, according to an Upshot analysis of newly released voting data.

Past Democratic primary voters represented a larger share of the district’s voters than they did in 2016 or 2014, and they turned out in greater numbers than in a typical midterm election.

The election in Georgia’s Sixth is only the latest in a string of special elections where Democrats have turned out in impressive numbers. It’s a reversal from recent off-year elections, when Republicans turned out at far greater rates than Democrats.

If the pattern holds into next year’s midterm elections, it will help the party’s long-shot goal to win back the House. Historically, Democratic midterm turnout has been stronger when Republicans hold the presidency.