The final results were in Friday: the Democratic national convention was more popular with television viewers than the Republicans'. Yet if you're wondering whether that might be an indicator of success in November, it's probably not worth a bet. Over the last 16 presidential election cycles going back to 1960, eight times the party with the most-watched summer convention won the election. Eight times they lost. That includes 2016, when the Democrats and Hillary Clinton had more viewers than Donald Trump — but the Republican had the last laugh. Noted pundit Jeff Greenfield said Democrats may be boosted by sheer star power this summer.
