Republican voter registration on the rise in Luzerne County – Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice

THE CITIZENS VOICE FILE President Donald Trump arrives on stage for a rally at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Twp. in 2018.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts to the crowd during a rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Monday, April 25, 2016. Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer

Since 2009, Democratic voter registration has been shrinking in Luzerne County.

Democratic registration is down from 59% of voters in 2008 to 50% today. Republican registration is up from 33% to 37%.

I think this is a trend you will see continue in Luzerne County for the foreseeable future, said Benjamin T. Toll, a political science professor at Wilkes University. Democrats at the national level have not been appealing to the type of voter that exists in Luzerne County, and Republicans have been speaking to the interests of local voters.

From 2008 through 2019, a total of 16,248 Democrats switched their registration to Republican in Luzerne County, according to the state Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation. By comparison, 5,784 Republicans in the county became Democrats those years.

Donald Trump is another big reason for those Republican registration gains in Luzerne County, Toll said.

President Trump speaks to the concerns of many voters in the county, and the Republican Party has become an extension of his views, Toll said. The Democrats have largely left rural areas for the interests of cities in the last generation, and this will result in losses in places like Luzerne County.

In 2016, 1,031 Republicans switched to Democrat in Luzerne County, while 5,815 Democrats became Republicans. Some Democrats switched that year to vote for Trump in a competitive Republican primary, and some Democrats who remained Democrats that year voted for Trump in general election.

Trump crushed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the county with 58% of the vote, despite the Democratic registration advantage. He became the first Republican presidential candidate since 1988 to win Pennsylvanias Electoral College votes and the Luzerne County vote.

The Pennsylvania Republican Party is working to get Democrats who voted for Trump to register as Republicans, Deputy Executive Director Charlie ONeill said.

Were always looking to register more Republicans, ONeill said. Were proud of the folks in Luzerne County who have been registering Republican and switching parties. Republican values are winning them over.

Pennsylvania voters who say Ive been a Democrat my whole life have been changing parties because of Trump and Democratic opposition to fracking, ONeill said.

More Democrats will also switch to Republican this year so they can vote in the April 28 primary election, ONeill said. The primary includes a competitive Republican contest for the 8th Congressional district.

Six Republicans have announced they will run in the primary for the 8th Congressional District, which includes eastern Luzerne County and other Northeastern Pennsylvania counties Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and most of Monroe. U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat from Moosic, represents the district.

Pennsylvanias primary elections are closed. Voters registered as unaffiliated or with minor parties cant vote in Republican or Democratic primaries.

Yet more voters in Luzerne County have also been registering with other parties or as unaffiliated. Registration with other parties or unaffiliated has increased from 8% in 2008 of voters to 13% today.

Its an evolution, Luzerne County Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Bozinski said about the decline in Democratic registration. There are a lot of theories as to what is causing it. Maybe its that fact that there are more older registered voters who are changing their minds about certain things and young people not coming into the mix to change their place. I dont know what causes it, but we are trying to reach out to everyone to make sure we can become a little bit stronger.

Republican registration gains in the county have continued since Trumps election. Democratic switches to Republican totaled 4,460 in 2017 to 2019, compared to 1,522 Republican switches to Democrat in those three years.

We will likely see Republicans continue to increase their gains in the area, Toll said, noting the decline in union households and the decreasing population in urban areas of the county.

So far this year, 421 Democrats have switched to Republican, and 93 Republicans became Democrats. Republicans have also been making registration gains statewide, though not at the Luzerne County rate.

Democratic registration in the state is down from 52% in 2008 to 48% today, while Republican registration is up from 37% to 38%. From 2008 through 2019, 418,302 Democrats switched to Republican statewide, while 248,006 Republicans switched to Democrat over that time.

The Progressive Turnout Project, an organization that hopes to get Democratic voters to the polls, announced a $45 million plan to start a six-month canvassing program in May that will engage low-propensity, low-information Democratic voters in Pennsylvania. The organization says it is targeting 25,994 voters in Luzerne County.

The Luzerne County Democratic Party will focus on registering new county residents, college students and young professionals, Bozinski said.

We need to increase our voter registration in two areas college students and professionals. While there is some level of strong engagement, a broader level of our college students and young professionals arent really coming out to vote and perhaps arent registered yet, she said. We are also looking at doing direct outreach into our new and emerging communities, the Latino community in the Hazleton area, as well as in Wilkes-Barre, new folks in the Wyoming Valley, to make sure they are engaged, make sure they are registered, make sure they are part of the process and have a place at the table.

Larry Michalski, head of Misericordia Universitys Republican student, and Carlee Capece, leader of Misericordias Democratic student group, both said they plan to set up tables on campus to try to get students registered. They said they will try to get students to register using their campus addresses, especially if they are from another state.

Pennsylvania is a swing state, Michalski said.

Gregory Chang, chairman of Wilkes Universitys Democratic club, said they are trying to register students with fliers on campus and through social media.

Luzerne County Democrats also want to register students at Luzerne County Community College, which is primarily a commuter school and also has some older learners as well who might not be registered to vote, Bozinski said. The Democratic National Committee is also going to help register voters in the county, she added.

We are very optimistic, she said. We will have some presidential hopefuls come through this area, and that always galvanizes voters.

The last year Democratic registration surged in Luzerne County was 2008 when Barack Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination and the White House. Clinton also defeated Obama in that years hotly contested Pennsylvania primary.

The number of registered Democrats in the county jumped from 99,122 in November 2007 to 111,329 in November 2008. Republican registration during that time increased by much smaller amount, from 60,512 to 61,080.

Contact the writer:

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

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Republican voter registration on the rise in Luzerne County - Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice