Nathan Layne and Jason Lange

PHILADELPHIA, (Reuters) – Republicans are registering formerly Democratic voter at four times as fast as Democrats in Pennsylvania. This is a red flag for Democrats trying to retain control of the U.S. Congress.

Pennsylvania’s Republican gains are similar to those in other states with competitive elections in November. High levels of disapproval at President Joe Biden’s handling of the job have helped reduce long-standing Democratic advantage in registered voters.

Beth Jones (48), a former Philadelphia Police Officer, said that she was fed up with her Democratic Party affiliation and registered last month as a Republican.

Jones shared similar sentiments to other converts recently interviewed by Reuters. Jones cited worries about violent crime and inflation as reasons for making the change.

Reuters looked at registration data from six states which could be in tight U.S. Senate elections in November. These races typically require that voters are members of a particular party in order to vote in nomination contests. Although each state records voter registration in a different way, the review showed that four states had seen Republican gains and two other states did not.

In the November 8 midterm elections Republicans will retake control in either chamber of Congress. This would give them the ability to stop Biden’s legislative agenda.

BAD NEWS FOR DEMOCRATS

The Republican advancement in voter registration has been more obvious in Pennsylvania than anywhere else. According to Pennsylvania’s Department of State, Republicans have so far converted four Democrats from Republicans this year for every Republican that switched to the Democratic Party. It’s the best conversion rate since at least a decade, well ahead of 2016, when Republicans captured the White House and House of Representatives.

Kevan Yenerall from Clarion University, Clarion, Pennsylvania, stated that this is “bad news for Democrats”.

Although registered Democrats are still more popular than registered Republicans in Pennsylvania by over half a million, that number is now 4 million Democrats to 3 million Republicans. However, the Democratic advantage has been steadily shrinking and will be the largest in general elections since 2005.

A smaller gap might have major implications on the race to replace retiring Republican U.S. senators. Senator Pat Toomey. Pennsylvanians can also vote in November for Governor to be the same as Democrat Tom Wolf.

The retirement of Republican Senator Richard Burr has created a tight Senate race in North Carolina. According to state election board data, Republicans this year have wooed three Democratic voters for every one that Democrats had poached. The Republican advantage in 2021 was only half.

The number of Republicans registered in Florida and Nevada increased over the initial months, while Democrats’ numbers declined slightly. Both parties have lost similar numbers in New Hampshire and Arizona due to the removal from voter rolls of inactive voters.

PHILADELPHIA PUSH

Senior adviser to the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania Jeff Sheridan said that the party doesn’t want to be left behind. The party is working hard to hire field staff sooner than normal for an election year. This includes adding staff on January college campuses in Philadelphia that are trying to register young voters.

Even Philadelphia, which is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, Republicans are growing in popularity. The city’s voter data shows 1,315 Democrats have submitted forms to become Republican Party members this year, more than four-times the amount of Republicans.

There are net gains for Democrats, but not all of the Republican Conversions shown in the Registration Data.

Alexandra Field, angered by violent crime in Philadelphia, said that she registered last year as a Democrat to try and help remove Larry Krasner as Philadelphia District Attorney. She then reregistered as a Republican in March.

72-year-old Ed Rumick is a former union electrician and said that his decision to switch to Republican merely formalized a decades-old decision not to support a Democratic Party that he considers weak on border control, socialism, etc.

Calvin Tucker, the deputy chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party said that the gains pointed to a strong showing by the party.

Tucker spoke from the newly opened party office in Northwest Philadelphia. He estimated that more than 100 new Republicans or converts have been reached through petition drives.

Tucker stated, “It’s a citywide outreach.” “We’ll do some canvassing and knocking at doors. We’ll also be standing on corners and speaking to residents and neighbours about who and what we want to accomplish.”

According to Terry Madonna (a Millersville University senior fellow and a political analyst who has been living in Pennsylvania for many years), in addition to the economic problems of inflation, increasing numbers of Pennsylvanians are becoming disillusioned in their relationship with the Democratic Party.

Madonna pointed out Republican Glenn Youngkin who was elected governor of Virginia after promising to end the teaching of critical racism in schools as an example of how Pennsylvanian voters will respond.

Madonna stated, “It’s more than just inflation,” noting that Republicans won a number of wins in Philadelphia suburban municipal elections last year. It’s all a mix of many things, I think.