MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Low voter turnout in Democratic primaries this election season has the Party worried, according to a recent article in The Hill - a publication covering the U.S. Congress.

"Their push this week to raise the alarm — and campaign cash — over the GOP lawsuit against President Obama and to stoke fears of impeachment shows just how worried Democrats are," wrote Alexandra Jaffe on July 30.

Jaffe's conclusion is supported by recent efforts of the Ann Callis for Congress campaign.

Former Madison County circuit judge Callis stepped down from a 19-year career on the bench in May 2013 to make a bid for the 13th Congressional District.

In the March primary, she easily defeated challengers George Gollin and David Green, allowing her to go on to face Republican incumbent Rodney Davis in the November general election.

However, the margin of Republican to Democratic primary votes in the 13th was 62-38 - or 49,754 to 30,934 votes.

In an email sent to prospective donors on July 29, the Callis campaign indicated it would be "doomed" without immediate help.

“I wouldn’t email you two days in a row if I didn’t need your immediate help … Davis outraised us – again (and) Speaker (John) Boehner reserved $72O,OOO on the Illinois airwaves just to attack me,” states the Callis campaign. “(W)e have to fight back right now. If we don’t, our Democratic campaign could be doomed from the start.”

So far in the 2014 election cycle, Davis has a 2-1 fund-raising edge over Callis. Davis has raised $2.6 million to Callis's $1.3 million, according to the most recent disclosure reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

The Hill article also pointed out that turnout in 15 of the 25 states that had already had primary elections, hit record lows, and that only three had higher turnout this cycle than in 2010.