Voter turnout in Butler County on Tuesday roughly matched numbers seen in the 2010 midterm, the year Republicans made large congressional gains two years into the Obama administration.

Unofficial results in Butler County put voter turnout at about 65,500 Tuesday, just shy of the 66,102 figure posted in 2010. Tuesday’s turnout beat 2014’s midterm election, which saw 56,562 voters go the polls.

Tuesday saw about 51 percent voter turnout in Butler County.

Yesterday’s vote totals did not approach the turnout typically seen in presidential election years. In 2016, about 98,500 people cast ballots in Butler County. In 2012, about 90,300 people voted.

Albert Buzas, a Democratic committee member campaigning for Ron DiNicola outside a polling place Tuesday said the redrawn congressional map was shaping up as a more competitive race in Butler. That, he said, and recent high profile political events pushed turnout for Democrats.

“Since the (Brett) Kavanaugh hearing, you have a lot of women who are totally disgusted by how this all wound up,” Buzas said.

Bruce Craig, a supporter of Kelly’s, also pointed to Democrats to explain high turnout.

“More young people are voting this year,” Craig said. “And a lot more are voting against Republicans just to vote against Donald Trump.”