For the first time since George W. Bush was in the White House, there are more registered Republicans than Democrats in Bucks County. Pennsylvania Republicans say it’s just one part of a push to increase GOP registrations in the Keystone State before November’s election.
As of Monday, Bucks County had 264 more Republican voters than Democrats. The last Republican presidential candidate to win this Philly suburb was George H.W. Bush in 1988.
“That’s major,” said Pat Poprik, chair of the Bucks County Republican Committee. Republicans lost their registered vote advantage when Barack Obama was swept into the White House in 2008.
“It’s a long time getting it back,” Poprik said.
As recently as February, Poprik said, Democrats held a 2,400 lead in the county. But she saw movement toward the GOP and the county party made registration a priority.
“A lot of people said, ‘It’s doable,’” she said. Various outside organizations came to help Bucks Republicans register voters. Voters first registered Republican at the pace of 100 a week, then 150 a week.
Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College, said the Bucks County flip is “a warning for Democrats as they have become more reliant on suburban Philadelphia for statewide success. While having more registered Republicans in the county boosts the prospect for Trump in the state, it will be interesting to see how these improved numbers translate into gains across Republican candidates.”
Activist Scott Presler and his Early Vote Action have been leading the charge to register new Republican voters in Bucks and statewide in Pennsylvania. He’s been working in the trenches to register Bucks County voters for five years.
“It’s done — this major Philadelphia suburban county, which voted for Hillary & Biden, is now red. This is huge, monumental, monstrous, & earth-shattering news. We did it!” Presler posted to X.
Poprik also gives credit to the Biden-Harris administration.
“The voters in Bucks County are fed up, not just with Joe Biden, but with Democrat policies,” Poprik said. “People see what’s happening when they go to the grocery store or get gas.”
Noting that she saw a local gas station Tuesday selling regular for $3.89 a gallon, she added: “All the resources we’re not using. Pennsylvania is a big fracking state.”
Presler has emerged as the pied piper of GOP voter registration. “Since 2016, people are saying Republicans are losing the suburban mom vote. We’re seeing suburban moms come back to the Republican Party,” he told DVJournal,
“One theme I hear from them, they say to me, ‘I can’t afford anything.’ They say, ‘Scott, my kids are eating me out of house and home.’ And ‘We can’t afford to take family vacations. We don’t have the money to spend we had four years ago.’”
And it’s not just parents.
“Two years ago, Pennsylvania Democrats had an advantage of 95,000 more registered Democrats aged 18 to 24. Now it’s down to 66,000, basically meaning 18- to 24-year-olds are trending to the right.”
And since Oct. 7, more Jewish residents of Bucks County are switching to the GOP after seeing how the Biden administration has treated Israel, he said.
“Four weeks ago, we flipped Doylestown Township red,” said Ed Sheppard, chair of communications for the Doylestown Republicans. “Yesterday, Bucks County flipped red.”
“Flipping Bucks County was a team effort spearheaded and inspired by renowned national activist Scott Pesler. No one group can claim sole credit for this flip. Numerous groups, elected committee people and candidates across the county all registered people sick of the Biden/Harris agenda, supported by Bob Casey.”
Republican strategist Christopher Nicholas gave credit to “grassroots Republican activists and leaders in Bucks County whose hard work has helped turn the county back red.
“As someone who grew up in Bucks County and cut my teeth there and local politics, it’s good news and it’s important. Now GOP candidates there start from a higher level, and that’s good news for us and bad news for our Democratic friends.”
While this is good news for the GOP, Borick said there is a lot of work for both parties to do before November, particularly with the Democratic presidential ticket still in flux.
“It’s clear that the change [from Biden to Harris] has helped increase enthusiasm among Democrats who were quite downtrodden about the state of the race. Its impact on areas like fundraising is obvious at this point, but just how much Harris will move the polls in Pennsylvania and beyond remains to be seen.
“In all likelihood, the shifts will not be dramatic given the entrenched polarization at this moment. But even modest movement can be incredibly impactful in a state like Pennsylvania where presidential races have been so tight.”
Poprik points to one more bit of good news for her party: Research shows voters who just registered or who switched their registration are more likely to vote.
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