The latest Gallup poll has some encouraging news for Republicans and a warning for Democrats gleefully awaiting November’s blue wave. “Forty-five percent of Americans now have a favorable view of the Republican Party, a nine-point gain from last September’s 36%. It is the party’s most positive image since it registered 47% in January 2011, shortly after taking control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections. Forty-four percent give the Democratic Party a favorable rating.”

A couple of significant things are at play here. At this time last year, the GOP had just failed to repeal ObamaCare as Republicans had been promising since 2010. Democrats were also winning the fight over the debt ceiling and spending. Thus, Republican voters had a lower opinion of their own party. This year, Americans are reaping the benefits of the GOP economic boom fueled by lower taxes and fewer regulations. The politically interested also note that Neil Gorsuch now sits on the Supreme Court, as will Brett Kavanaugh despite the Democrats’ horrendous orchestrated character assassination.

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Meanwhile, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that “Republican enthusiasm about the upcoming election has increased, drawing nearly even with Democrats.”

The takeaway here isn’t so much the polls themselves as who votes come Election Day (or via early voting). Midterm elections are all about turnout, and enthusiasm dictates turnout. If the GOP can stoke voter enthusiasm and keep favorability high, Republicans might not only thwart a blue wave but bring a red one akin to 2010 and 2014.