There is an argument that liberal voters, frustrated with their lack of representation in the electorate, may have simply begun to register as Republicans in order to have more impact on the vote, helping to inflate Republican registration numbers. This, according to data analysis from some GOP operatives, could be part of the story, but may not be completely accurate.

A document based on Secretary of State data provided to the Star-Tribune argues that while, numerically, Wyoming saw the second-highest Republican turnout in its history (the 1994 election, the paper notes, had 2,361 more people vote), it is not the highest turnout by percentage: in fact, it is near the historical average for an election of this type.

What drove the large volume of turnout, the author of the paper argued, was an increase in the overall number of individuals who registered as Republicans. With turnout by percentage hovering between 60 percent and 66 percent in every election dating back to 1994, and party registration numbers staying consistent with the increasing voting age population since then, it’s hard to make a statistical argument that the game has changed significantly for Republicans from what it once was.