Big difference in voter turnout between parties during primary election

The primaries are officially over here in Virginia. Now, the governor's race is getting started with Democratic nominee Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam facing off against Republican nominee Ed Gillespie.

Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam secured his spot with 303,429 votes in the Democratic primary. Ed Gillespie had 160,039 votes in the Republican primary.

If you

take a look at the overall totals

for the governor's race, there's nearly a 200,000 vote difference between the Democrats and Republicans across the state.

More than 540,000 people voted for the two Democrats and the Republican side had around 360,000 voting for the three candidates on the ballot.

Alleyn Harned, chair of the Harrisonburg Democratic Committee, credits the difference to passionate people who want to see their values embraced at the capital.

"We've got a lot of energy in the Democratic party right now," said Harned. "There's a lot of people who are upset at what's happening at the federal level right now. They disagree with a lot of the policies that are moving forward, and they're coming out to voice that opposition by being more involved."

Jennifer Brown, communications chair with the Harrisonburg City Republican Committee, said their party wasn't surprised by the voter turnout. She said Democrats have been coming out in full force ever since the 2016 presidential election.

Brown said their committee is now looking forward to the election for governor on Nov. 7.

To view the full results of the primary, click

here