close

Red vs. Blue: Washington, Greene registrations swing to GOP

5 min read
1 / 3
Vote logo
2 / 3

Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter

A view inside the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington

3 / 3

Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter

A view inside the Republican Party headquarters in Washington

Democrats hoping for a “blue wave” in Pennsylvania are seeing red in Washington and Greene counties.

The two counties in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania have held registration advantages by Democrats for generations, but both flipped to the Republicans just before the state’s Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote.

The shift over the past decade from Democratic strongholds to slight Republican advantages before the Nov. 3 general election has been noticeable, but it’s been the last four years where the GOP really gained ground.

As of the final reporting date in Washington County, there were 67,402 registered Republicans compared to 66,405 Democrats and 18,545 independents. In Greene County, there were 10,417 Republicans, 10,139 Democrats and 2,266 unaffiliated party voters.

“It’s very small, but it is quite significant,” said Joseph DiSarro, professor of Washington & Jefferson College.

DiSarro, who has been teaching at the college for more than 40 years, said he’s amazed how the crimson tide has rolled into Democratic waters.

“I remember when the Democratic Party had a very significant majority – in the thousands – and the political table has turned. It’s going to affect the elections from the local level to the national level,” DiSarro said.

DiSarro’s theory for the shift is that the people in the region hold similar values as before, but the parties have moved in different directions.

“I don’t think the people have changed. But the parties have changed,” he said.

Dave Ball, the vice chairman for the Republican Party in Washington County, said issues such as energy development and immigration have been big motivators for new registrants.

“It’s been trending that way for years because we’ve been working on it for years. It didn’t just happen by accident,” he said. “We intend to keep going.”

President Donald Trump won the county with 64% of the vote in 2016, and Republicans swept the county row offices last year and also now control the board of commissioners. Ball wants to boost Trump’s tally to 70% in this election.

“Mood, sentiment of the county is moving toward Republicans,” Ball said. “(Former Democrats) just finally saw the light and registered Republicans.”

Ben Bright, chairman of the Washington County Democratic Party, isn’t surprised by the change, considering 2004 was the last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried the county with John Kerry’s small victory.

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage they have. It’s just putting numbers on paper,” Bright said. “This has been a longtime trend. I think it’s a lot of people may have been registered Democrats, but they’re not Democrats.”

Bright said he’s not worried so much about the registration advantage as he is about improving from Hillary Clinton’s abysmal performance four years ago.

“We are absolutely going to do better,” he said. “We know we aren’t going to win the county, but losing by less is the goal.”

Greene County is seeing a similar trend, an “accomplishment” that Republican Party Chairman Greg Hopkins said paid dividends when the party took control of the board of commissioners last year.

“I think President Trump appeals to rural and middle America, and his popularity has helped our registration grow significantly since 2016,” Hopkins said in a written statement. “The majority of not only Greene, but Southwestern Pennsylvania are conservative thinkers.”

Greene County Democratic Party Chairman Greg Ayersman could not be reached for comment Friday.

While Republican candidates are dominating many races outside of Allegheny County, not every county around here has been overtaken by the GOP in party registrations. Democrats in Fayette County still lead Republicans with 39,857 voters compared to 34,460 Democrats, with another 8,028 independents. However, Democrats once held a 3-to-1 advantage just 10 years ago.

“I’ve looked at these numbers … and they drive me crazy,” said George Rattay, chairman of the Fayette County Democratic Party. “When we go out to vote, they may be registered Democrats, but they’re voting for candidates as a Republican. When you have a (registration) advantage, you shouldn’t lose elections.”

He said ancestral Democrats whose parents and grandparents supported the party are now moving away without changing their registrations.

“There are a lot of things I see out there today that people take for granted. And people don’t see which party has always been for the working man,” he said. “With the Trumpster in, he’s going to save the working class? He’s not going to save the working class.”

Bill Kozlovich, the Fayette County Republican Party chairman, said many Democrats are disgusted with the party, but don’t want to change their registration, which leads to big Republican victories each year.

“The biggest change is that people realizing the Democratic Party has walked away from them. It’s no longer the party of their grandfathers,” Kozlovich said. “I’ve had numerous people come to me and say, ‘I’m a Democrat and I’m not going to change my party, but I’ll never vote for a Democrat again.'”

He pointed to row offices and other county positions that have already moved right despite trailing in party registration.

“This is a red county,” he said. “We just don’t have the ‘official’ numbers. We’ve turned this to a Republican county.”

But as rural areas have gone red, the suburbs, such as Mt. Lebanon, which once was evenly mixed between the two parties, has turned bright blue in recent years.

“You’ve had this political change due to the demographics,” DiSarro said. “You have different groups, and they’ve brought their politics with them.”

And like anything in politics, change is also just the next election away.

“It could go back. Political shifts and political change is part of the political landscape of America,” DiSarro said.

Party Registration Shift

Registration – REP —- DEM —- IND —- TOTAL

Fayette

2020 ——— 34,460 – 39,857 – 8,028 – 82,345

2016 ——— 27,923 – 48,602 – 7,327 – 83,852

2010 ——— 22,332 – 61,591 – 6,975 – 90,898

Greene

2020 ——– 10,417 – 10,139 – 2,266 – 22,812

2016 ———- 8,060 – 12,474 – 2,056 – 22,590

2010 ———- 6,829 – 16,596 – 1,878 – 25,303

Washington

2020 ——– 67,402 – 66,405 – 18,545 – 152,352

2016 ——– 55,307 – 68,026 – 15,502 – 138,835

2010 ——– 50,583 – 87,736 – 15,356 – 153,675

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today