re: 2018: Democrats lead GOP by 12 million registered voters, 40% D, 29% R, 28% I

I think Democrats are definitely motivated (just like people who hated Democrats were motivated in 2016). Conservative leaning voters cannot afford to simply rest on their laurels and not vote. Anger and spite are great motivators. It's why Trump won in 2016. It's why Democrats will likely show up this fall and in 2020.

Party registration likely doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot. Like the article says, Democrats outnumber Republicans in ex. Louisiana. Yet, since Clinton, Louisiana has been a fairly red state. Many people are lazy and don't feel like changing their party registration. That doesn't mean they vote the same way. My mother has been a registered Democrat all her life and I don't think she's voted for a democratic candidate in a federal election in 20 years. The "rust belt" could be becoming the same way. They don't feel like changing their party affiliation on paper. But they aren't voting for the far left democrats that have all but given them the middle finger.