Will high turnout hurt Bernero?

State election officials are predicting higher-than-normal turnout in Tuesday’s primary election. That’s both surprising in what has been a lackluster gubernatorial election year -- and potentially bad news for Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Virg Bernero.

While it’s true that Lansing’s mayor has surged ahead of House Speaker Andy Dillon in the polls, Bernero’s campaign likely was counting on a low turnout of core Bernero supporters -- union members and progressive interest groups -- to crush Dillon in the contest.

The 23 percent turnout that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is predicting -- higher than the 19 percent in the 2008 primary -- could indicate a more widespread turnout that may benefit Dillon.

Still, it appears that Bernero now is effectively getting his message out to the public through outside TV ads and other campaign stumping. It’s not clear whether a higher turnout hurts his chances.