Published: April 04, 2008 12:06 am            

Dems ahead as local voters switch parties

The intense Democratic presidential primary between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton has become a political mood ring – with hundreds of Cambria County voters turning from red to blue.

In the latest Cambria registration figures, Democrats have 55,753 voters, up 1,610 from November. Republican registration, at 27,718, is down 172.

Democrats also fared well in Somerset County.

The local changes reflect enrollment gains made statewide by the Democratic Party this year. In all, Democratic enrollment has expanded to more than 4 million – a record for either party, according to updated figures released this week by state elections officials.

The number of Democrats surged to at least 4,119,213, an increase of more than 235,000, about 6 percent, since the fall election. Meanwhile, Republican Party enrollment dropped 1.5 percent to 3,197,586.

“The energizing campaigns by the Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania has been the stimulating factor,” said Fred Smith, Cambria’s elections supervisor, on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the year, 369 Somerset County voters have changed their party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, while 99 have switched to the GOP, state statistics show.

“Most people don’t say why they’re changing,” Somerset County Elections Director Tina Pritts said Thursday. “But some have indicated they are changing to support a particular candidate.”

The voter registration deadline for the April 22 primary was March 24.

In all, Somerset County now has 25,992 registered Republicans, 22,963 Democrats and 3,940 voters in other parties for a total registration increase of 516 from the fall election.

Many Republicans who switched will return before the general election, predicted state Rep. Bob Bastian, R-Somerset, the county’s GOP chairman.

“Some don’t like Hillary at all. They’re going to switch to give Obama another vote, or vice versa,” Bastian said.

“We’ll get a lot of those people back. We’re a Republican county, and we’ll stay that way.”

Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk, the county’s Democratic Party chairman, hopes many of those who changed parties will stay.

“That’s going to be the test,” he said.

“A lot of people told me they switched over to vote for Obama or Hillary,” he added. “I’ve had some of each. I don’t know how it’s going to play out. It’ll be interesting.”

In Cambria, a large number of the new voters are younger people, Smith said.

His office showed 536 new Democratic registrations among those 18 to 25 years old to only 221 GOP registrations among those 18 to 25.

In new total registrations and in numbers of voters who changed party ranks, the Democrats also rolled up the larger numbers. Democrats have 952 newly registered voters, while Republicans registered 372 new voters.

Democrats also hold the edge in Cambria in the number of registered voters changing their party tag for the primary. A total 932 voters moved to the Democratic ranks; only 203 became Republicans.

“It’s the presidential race and all the hoopla surrounding it that is the main factor,” said Helen Whiteford, Cambria County Democratic chairwoman, noting the large turnouts in Johnstown for former President Bill Clinton on behalf of his wife and for Obama.

Voter interest in contested Democratic primary battles for two state House seats also has contributed to the party’s registration gains, Whiteford said.

Ann Wilson, executive director of the Cambria County Republican Party, said the numbers are not surprising.

“Pennsylvania is a battleground for the Democrats,” she said. “But once the smoke clears after the primary, I believe those numbers will change, and a number will be reverting to the Republican Party.”

        

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