Democrats spent the afternoon preparing for the next round, motivated for the late day push by strong voter turnout early in key areas, evidently an expression of Garden State resistance to President Donald J. Trump.

Trump simultaneously tweeted out his endorsement of Republican challenger Bob Hugin.

“Bob Hugin, successful all his lfe, would be a Great Senator from New Jersey,” wrote Trump. “He has my complete and total endorsement! Get out and Vote for Bob.”

That created jitters for operatives who wanted to know what Trump knew that they didn’t know.

Sources in all corners of the state – from Camden to Hudson – described some of the worst weather they had experienced on Election Day, and that prompted mild panic attacks.

But Democratic polling places in critical areas nevertheless performed early in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by over 900,000.

“Turnout high across the board,” a source said.

“Turnout has been extremely high,” said Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado.

“It’s better than brisk,” confirmed Craig Guy, chief of staff to Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, referring to Jersey City.

Guy said 22,000 people had already voted in Jersey City, a key city for incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

That would put Jersey City  – if the weather holds – on pace for about 40,000.

North Bergen and Union City were running their usual programs.

Hoboken projected a turnout of 12,000, compared to 8.5K in 2014.

In other parts of the state with Democratic voting bases, sources reported high turnout.

By noon, 900 voters had voted in Lambertville, a Democratic town in battleground district CD-7, which experienced little more than 1,400 in the primary.

The Essex cities were performing, according to Essex County Democratic Committee Chairman Leroy Jones.

Turnout in Elizabeth was higher than expected this morning.

In Perth Amboy, a local election is helping to create strong turnout.

All that – with the exception of Perth Amboy – was in the urban part of the state where those most nervous Menendez backers suspected dormant conditions.

It didn’t look that way early, which appeared to be good news for Menendez.

Much of the overriding excitement existed in the battleground suburbs, particularly in districts 3, 7 and 11, where sources throughout the state based on early anti-Trump turnout anticipated Democratic wins to augment the expected CD-2 victory by state Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1).

“Four New Jersey pickups” was a routine observation based on the afternoon mood.

Back in Hudson, Guy was cautiously optimistic.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself here,” he said.