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September 30, 2008

Dem registration gap in Pa. widens to 1.1M

Numbers not necessarily a sign of Obama win, McCain spokesmen say.

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – The Democratic Party’s registration edge over Republicans has widened to more than 1.1 million statewide, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

But the story is a bit different in Luzerne County, where a systemwide purge has diminished the Democratic ranks by almost 12,000 and the GOP ranks by more than 15,000, county Director of Elections Leonard Piazza said.

The Pennsylvania numbers have boosted the confidence of Barack Obama campaign workers. The last time a Republican carried the Keystone State was in 1988, when George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis.

But Mike Barley, chairman of Republican John McCain’s Pennsylvania campaign, said he doesn’t believe the numbers indicate a clear victory for Obama.

“We feel John McCain is the right type of candidate to attract both Republican and Democratic voters,” Barley said. “We don’t feel the registration edge will hurt us at all.”

There are 4.3 million Democrats and 3.2 million Republicans registered in Pennsylvania. In 2004, there were nearly 4 million Democrats and 3.4 million Republicans.

In Luzerne County, there are 108,563 Democrats to 60,220 Republicans. In 2004, there were 120,420 Democrats and 75,529 Republicans.

The drops reflect a post-2004 election purge of the voting rolls, the first in 12 years, Piazza said. More than 36,000 names were removed.

“It needed to be done by law,” Piazza said. “Many of them have re-registered, but many were removed due to a change of residency or death.”

Piazza said there was a surge in Democratic registrations before the April primary election.

In 2004, Sen. John Kerry defeated President George W. Bush by 144,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Democrats held a 580,000 voter registration edge at the time.

“We’re seeing the desire for change right here in Pennsylvania, where Democratic voter registration is growing every day,” said Obama spokeswoman Ellen Mellody. “The electorate will be fundamentally different than it was in 2004.”

McCain spokesman Paul Lindsay says the registration edge doesn’t necessarily translate into more votes for Obama.

“Democratic registration benefited from a contentious primary in which Barack Obama was soundly rejected by members of his own party in 60 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania,’ Lindsay said. “These Democrats continue to view Barack Obama as the typical politician that he is, and we are encouraged by the growing support that John McCain continues to receive from members of all political parties who are drawn to his record of putting politics aside to get things done.”

Obama lost the Pennsylvania primary to Hillary Clinton by 10 percentage points. She carried Luzerne and Lackawanna counties by a 3-to-1 margin.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7218.

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