Washington (CNN) The turnout in Tuesday night's Democratic New Hampshire primary was the party's highest ever and provided a hopeful sign to Democrats disappointed by low enthusiasm demonstrated in Iowa last week.

The roughly 291,000 votes counted as of early Wednesday afternoon outpaced the 288,672 who voted in 2008, the previous high for Democrats in the Granite State.

In contrast, the 176,574 who turned out to vote in Iowa last week was well behind 2008's 239,872, which alarmed Democrats who believe a strong turnout will be necessary to oust President Donald Trump from the White House in November.

The turnout in New Hampshire Tuesday night well exceeded that of 2016, when 253,062 voted. Nearly two dozen towns have yet to report their results, and other areas have not yet reported a count of write-in votes.

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