Republican registrations surge in Pennsylvania in warning sign for Democrats
By: Nathan Layne and Jason Lange
Hahahaha oh boy......................
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Republicans are registering formerly Democratic voters at four times the rate that Democrats are making the reverse conversion in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, a warning sign for Democrats as they try to keep control of the U.S. Congress.
The Republican gains in Pennsylvania, home to a critical U.S. Senate race, follow a pattern seen in other states that could have competitive contests in November's elections, as high levels of disapproval with President Joe Biden's handling of his job are helping narrow the long-held advantage held by Democrats in numbers of registered voters.
"I just got fed up and just felt like there has to be a better way," said Beth Jones, 48, a retired Philadelphia police officer who last month registered as a Republican, ending her three-decade affiliation with the Democratic Party.
Similar to other recent converts interviewed by Reuters, Jones cited concerns about inflation and violent crime in making the switch.
Reuters examined registration data in six states that could see tight U.S. Senate races in November and which generally require voters to be members of a party to participate in nominating contests. While each state tracks voter registration differently, the review pointed to Republican gains in four of those states, and no substantial difference in two of them.
If Republicans retake control of either of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, that will give them the power to bring Biden's legislative agenda to a halt.
'BAD NEWS FOR DEMOCRATS'
Nowhere is the Republican advance in voter registration more evident than in Pennsylvania, where so far this year Republicans have converted four Democrats for every Republican who has switched to the Democratic Party, according to data published by Pennsylvania's Department of State. That's on track to be the highest conversion rate in at least a decade and well above 2016, when Republicans took the White House, House of Representatives and Senate.
"This is bad news for the Democrats," said Kevan Yenerall, a political scientist at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
While registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans by more than half a million in Pennsylvania - 4 million Democrats to 3.4 million Republicans as of March 28 - the long-held Democratic advantage continues to narrow and is on pace to be the smallest in a general election since 2005.
The smaller gap could have significant implications for the race to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Senator Pat Toomey. Pennsylvanians will also vote for governor in November to follow Democrat Tom Wolf.
In North Carolina, where a tight Senate race is expected due to the retirement of Republican Senator Richard Burr, Republicans so far this year have picked up three Democratic converts for every voter that Democrats have poached, according to state election board data. Throughout 2021, the Republican advantage was about half that.
In Florida and Nevada, the numbers of registered Republicans rose in the first few months of the year while the ranks of Democrats declined modestly. In New Hampshire and Arizona, the removal of inactive voters from registration rolls has led both parties to lose similar numbers of voters in recent months.
PHILADELPHIA PUSH
Jeff Sheridan, a senior adviser for the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania, said the party isn't sitting on its hands. Efforts include hiring field staff earlier than usual for an election year, including additions of staff in January on college campuses around Philadelphia who are working to register younger voters, a demographic that leans Democratic.
But even in Philadelphia, a traditional Democratic stronghold, Republicans are gaining ground. Voter data shows that 1,315 Democrats in the city have filed forms this year to change their party registration to Republican, more than four times the number of Republicans making the opposite switch.
Not all the Republican conversions that show up in the registration data represent net losses for Democrats.
Angered by the city's violent crime wave, Alexandra Field said she registered as a Democrat last year in an unsuccessful attempt to help oust Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in the Democratic primary before re-registering as a Republican in March.
Ed Rumick, 72, a retired union electrician, told Reuters that his switch to Republican merely formalized a years-old decision to no longer support a Democratic Party that he sees as weak on border control and bent on socialism.
But Calvin Tucker, deputy chair for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said the gains point towards a strong showing for the party.
Speaking from the party's recently opened office in northwest Philadelphia, Tucker estimated that petition drives and other efforts to engage with Black and other traditionally "underserved communities" in the city had yielded more than 100 converts or newly registered Republicans so far this year.
"It is a citywide outreach," Tucker said. "We will do canvassing, knocking on doors, standing on corners, and talking to citizens and neighbors about who we are and what we are trying to achieve."
In addition to inflation and other economic issues, a growing number of Pennsylvania voters have become disillusioned with the Democratic Party over its perceived shift leftward on cultural matters, said Terry Madonna, a senior fellow in residence at Millersville University, a longtime political analyst in the state.
Madonna pointed to Republican Glenn Youngkin, who won the governorship of Virginia last year after campaigning on a promise to ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools, as an indicator of what will resonate with Pennsylvania voters.
"It's not just inflation," Madonna said, noting that Republicans scored a series of victories in municipal elections in the Philadelphia suburbs last year. "I think it's a combination of things."
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Want better? Vote better says it all..................hahaha
They earned every bit of it, didn't they?
Yep. EVERY bit.
It's going to be a bitter pill for Marc Elias.
"In Pennsylvania, Elias filed suit to force county boards of elections to accept late ballots that don’t arrive for a full week after the election. He also sued to force officials to count late ballots without a postmark to prove they were cast by Election Day. Elias also sued to prevent county boards of elections from disqualifying ballots if the signatures don’t match those on file, and to prevent rejection of ballots that aren’t in the security envelope, and only inside of one envelope."
If you want to vote better, you should NEVER VOTE FOR ANY republican
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articles within an article are not allowed.
At least she didn't kill anyone and pretend that she hit a deer like scumbag republican Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg
Yeah because the Democrat holding the WH is running such a spectacular administration. /s
President Biden isn't running a criminal enterprise like #45.
Kinda lowbarring it. Now, back to Pennsylvania's losers.
I don't know who this Democrat woman is who had a DUI but like I said, at least she is not a murdering scum bag who pretended she hit a deer.
Lots of politicians have had DUI's.. it's not a big deal.
but hey, you got it in. How chappaquiddick of you.
After 5 years of investigating, your seem to be wrong - again.
Five years? Really?
So you only have two examples of Democrat malfeasance (and how many years did you go have to go back to dig up Ted Kennedy) where I don't have the time to list the alleged conservative/republican scumbags extensive list of domestic abuse, sexual assault, child molesting, theft, misappropriation of funds, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., and now killing a man with his car - he struck the guy so hard - the man's glasses were in Ravnsborgs front seat.
So the Attorney General Democrat that you cited with a DUI is no big deal then.
Glad you agree.
Unlike murdering someone with your car and pretending you didn't know.
No, I was just laughing at the hypocrisy of your comment. And I didn't have to dig for Kennedy, I remember when it happened.
Lots of our elected officials have had run-ins with the law from all sides of the spectrum. You consistently only bring up such actions if the subject was a Republican while ignoring at best or forgiving at worst if the subject was a Democrat. Why are you so one-sided in your condemnation of these types of issues?
Wow! Don't that beat all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
Completely unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, 5 years. I told you, you haven't caught up with the rest of us.
You often demand links, so I gave you one. You obviously failed to comprehend that Kathleen Kane was Attorney General of Pennsylvania who, among other things, leaked grand jury facts. The DUI came a mere 1.5 years following her early release from prison. Apparently, Pennsylvania is tired of slow-learners.
The problem the gop is going to have winning back the House, having no hope in the Senate, is with the gop's lousy candidates they are nominating from the Trump wrong wing, The Whackadoodle Caucus...
In the midterms neither Biden nor Trump will be on the ballot anywhere. People in increasingly diverse Congressional districts will only be voting for their own Representatives. When it comes down to it there aren't many Districts where the gop is putting up candidates likely to win Democratic seats. The gop needs acceptable candidates to run come November, butt they only nominate Whackadoodles!
Actually, quite a few of the current gop Whackadoodle congress critters are looking pretty darned vulnerable to me...
The guys who had Hillary winning a landslide?
The odds will change when we find out which horses are in the running. The gop's Trump picked field is looking pretty lame...
No that was your pollsters
I'm pretty sure that all the Vegas oddsmaker picked Hillary to win in a landslide in 2016...
At this point they didn't give Trump a chance!
Which Districts can the gop take from Dems?
That wasn't about oddsmakers. It was about the betting public...
All in line to bet on the GOP.....
The safest bet I know right now!
As the Democrats nominate swift thoroughbreds and the gop picks a bunch of Trumpy olde swaybacked nags the odds will change!
It doesn't matter. For 14 months the nation got a good taste of woke ideology. That's all that matters now.
What will matter to voters in November is which candidates best represent their interests. There just are not very many vulnerable Democrats butt quite a few goppers are flaming out. Like Bobert, Green and Cawthorn already have...
Exactly, everybody sees the big Blue wave coming this Fall.
As the Democrats nominate swift thoroughbreds
Apt analogy, thoroughbreds are commodities who's sole purpose is to win money. Some are are drugged, whipped, and even shocked in the money chase.
What happens to swaybacknags is way worse!
No wave, either direction, looking at districts.
Trump's endorsement is vital to gop primary voters, but poison to suburban voters today!
No one cares what happens to them. Whip those drugged thoroughbreds for a Blue wave.
Is it time to burn Portland again? Or will it be Minneapolis again?
Democrats have a disillusioned base to contend with. Democratic leadership hasn't been exactly supportive of the calls for REVOLUTION after taking control of the Federal government. There's no way to hide that Democrats have been pandering rather than policymaking. Democrats don't have a plan and Biden reinforces that observation every day. The electorate would likely prefer a whackadoodle to a revolutionary radical.
The Republican advantage this election is running against Biden. Biden has only been making demands and threats; Biden is not a compromiser. Biden speaks the language of REVOLUTION and not the language of unity. Biden has pushed a radical agenda but has not been consistent in supporting that radical agenda. Biden's inconsistence performance as President has highlighted the inconsistent performance of the Democratic Congress. No Democrat is leading; all Democrats are only reacting and pandering.
What should scare Democrats is that the upcoming midterm election could become a referendum on Democrats as a party. That would force Democratic candidates into opposing their own party leadership, their own party agenda, and their own President. What Democrats have done during Trump's four years in office is create a no-win situation for themselves.
A few months is an eternity in political time. Democrats will be competitive by November!
You seem to forget that this inflation caused by greedy capitalists is just transitory.
Dedicated to all reality denying and confused lefties worldwide.