The Blue Wave came in at low tide in Rutherford County. It didn't sweep Republicans out of office so much as crash harmlessly upon the flood wall of conservatism.

Only one Democrat, Chantho Sourinho, won a head-to-head race Thursday night, Aug. 2. Sourinho held onto his County Commission seat by defeating Patsy Briley, 1,018-692.

Robert Peay Jr., who suspiciously ran as an independent, staved off his Republican challenger Jon Jaques, 1,131-913. The same trick didn't work for Jack Black, who lost his seat to Steve Pearcy, 1687 to 812.

One interesting note is the amount of support shown to Heather Ann Brown, the independent candidate (she really is, no fooling) who ran against Bill Ketron for county mayor.

Brown ended the night with 14,575 votes to Ketron's 24,013.

She may not have won but it seems like the protest vote against Ketron was strong considering Brown didn't really advertise or have any qualifications other than a desire to run.

With no one else to vote for, local Dems coalesced behind Brown's dark horse.

In doing so, the Rutherford County Democrats showed that they are still there, somewhere, living quiet existences.

Their quiet existences can be seen in the data from early and absentee ballots. There was an increase overall in participation. Which isn't hard to do in Rutherford County where, on average, less than half of eligible voters turnout at any election.

In the Aug. 2 election, about 26 percent of Rutherford Countians (42,873 votes cast out of 164,347 registered voters) exercised their right.

"In 2014, we had 32,676 votes cast for 21.9 percent out of 148,781 registered voters," Rutherford County Elections Administrator Alan Farley said.

The increase could be attributed to more Democrats pulling ballots, as seen in the early voting data.

More than 22,000 Rutherford County voters cast early or absentee ballots in this election. That's an increase of 30 percent over 2014 (or 5,289 ballots).

While Republican primary ballots outnumbered Democrats nearly two to one (14,531 to 8,079), Democrats actually turned up to vote.

As compared to 2014, there was a 9 percent (1,198) increase in Republican ballots pulled and a whopping 122 percent increase (4,445) in Democratic ballots in Rutherford County.

Across the state, Democrats saw a 27.77 percent increase in primary ballots cast and Republicans saw a 12.39 percent increase over the last midterm primary in 2014.

While it's not the Blue Wave some Dems had hoped for, it is an improvement over four years ago.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini issued a statement late Thursday night that sought a silver lining to the results.

"All across the Volunteer state, our message is resonating: That no matter who you are, what you look like, or where you live, you deserve the opportunity to create a better life for yourself and your family,” Mancini said.

I question her reasoning that it's the Democratic message that brought people out. I think that it's that there were actual candidates to vote for. The Dems have been sorely lacking in qualified candidates since 2010 when D equaled "Doomed."

This is the first year that they brought their heads up from behind the bunker to take on the GOP's enemy fire in several election cycles.

D still meant doomed to a certain extent, but at least they tried to put up a fight in Rutherford County. No one likes a one-sided battle.

But there is one thing that I agree with Mancini on.

"These midterm elections are bound to be one of the most important of our time," she said.

I agree because I believe every election is the most important of our lifetimes. It's our chance to get out and help guide our communities into the future.

Remember that come November and let's try to beat the turn out from this election. No matter who you vote for.

Michelle Willard is a freelance journalist who fills her days with social media marketing, politics, true crime, and taking complaints. You can complain to her on Twitter @MichWillard or by email michelle(at)murfreesborovoice.com.