It should come as no surprise to Republicans that the tenure of an unpopular president has engendered a heightened sense of purpose among his political opponents. The #Resist movement is no Tea Party — at least not yet — but more and more it seems as though the Left's Trump-era energy will actually persist into 2018, with great electoral consequences.

"Tuesday in Alabama, Democrats benefited from strong turnout that plainly exceeded midterm levels, while white working-class Republicans voted in weaker numbers," Nate Cohn wrote at the New York Times, later adding, "This has been a pattern in all of this year’s major special elections, as well as in the Virginia general election."

At a recent meeting of Democratic Party leaders, several state-based operatives reportedly shared anecdotes that illustrate this pattern's ubiquity. Here's a selection, per the Washington Post's report on the meeting:

"We had 3,000 people show up for our dinner; the Republicans had 500 show up for theirs," Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said. He added that Democrats "are turning what started as frustration with Washington and what was happening in Des Moines with the state government into energy and action."
Nebraska Democratic Party Chairman Jane Kleeb said that her once-depleted organization has recruited more than 55 candidates to run in local and statewide races — up from no more than 30 in past years.
"We had 125 people show up on a Sunday for a full-day training," she said. "Campaign staff, candidates, grass-roots leaders — and the candidate track was the fullest."

Consider those anecdotes are from Iowa and Nebraska, not exactly the land of Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., or Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Over the summer, Democrats lost a series of special elections, including in a Georgia race where the party's candidate, Jon Ossoff, had a massive cash advantage. In the aftermath of those special election losses, it seemed plausible the party's festering internal divisions were hampering its ability to gain (and regain) ground, especially in states with significant rural and working-class voters, even under the tenure of an unpopular president. Those divisions still exist and are not going anywhere soon, they just may no longer present an insurmountable obstacle for the party.

As summer turned to fall, it's possible the winds shifted and Democrats' Trump-era enthusiasm for their cause began to overpower enthusiasm for the president, or even enthusiasm against Democrats, among Republicans.