NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Data released by the analytics firm TargetSmart shows early voting estimates in Tennessee favor Republican voters.
The firm used official party registration information for voters along with a predictive model to determine the likely political affiliation of a voter. Theses voters were then identified as people "Modeled Democrat" or "Modeled GOP."
While affiliation doesn't mean they will vote according to party lines, the data shows early voters in Tennessee skew Republican.
Of 289,974 total votes, the data found 182,792 were Modeled GOP. This was double the 87,488 Modeled Democrat. 19,694 were considered to be "unclear."
The data suggests those 50-years-old and older make up the highest percentage of early voters, accounting for over 78% of votes. These voters were overwhelmingly considered to be GOP voters.
Early voters believed to be Democrats were strongest among those aged 18-39 and non-Caucasians. However, Caucasians and those over 40 whom are Modeled GOP greatly outnumbered those categories favoring Democrats.
Overall, early voter Republicans accounted for 63% of the votes compared to 30% of Democrats and 6% of unaffiliated.