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Lancaster County
Democratic Committee
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www.lancasterdems.com
 

We Are Growing, We Are Strong and Getting Stronger
by Bruce Beardsley, Chairman, LCDC. April 8, 2008

1st time ever that we surpassed the 30% registration level.
We gained 5.5 percentage points on the Republicans
It was 58-27%.  Now, it's 56-30%

"These numbers are remarkable & huge!  Our goal was to increase our registrations by 10,000 from Dec 07 thru Nov 08.  We've already increased by almost 12,000 and we have seven more months to go!  Republicans in the county now have a margin of less than two to one, where it was almost three to one only twelve years ago.  Democrats have broken thru the 30% ceiling for the first time in history.  Our new goal is to reach 100,000  registered Democrats by General Election Day! 

While Republicans may hope that most of those 5325 Republicans that switched will return to the GOP, historically that has never happened.  When voters switch, they usually stay switched.  That's because they're not just switching to vote in a primary, it's really a reflection of grave dissatisfaction.  They don't just want a different candidate; they want a whole new direction!  I believe the vast majority of our 12,000 new Democrats want a satisfactory end to a wasteful war, an end to incompetence, an end to cronyism, and an end to the war on science, and an end to gigantic fiscal mismanagement.  They want more jobs, a fairer taxation system, a more efficient health care system, a fair solution to the Medicare and Social Security problems, and a smart energy program that doesn't destroy our earth or our economy. 

While we're seeing Democratic gains throughout the nation, our growth here in Lancaster County is among the largest in the state.  These registration gains are not just a temporary blip, as the Republicans might hope.  They are just the latest high-water mark of a trend that began here eight years ago when our percentage gains began to surpass the Republicans.  Since 2000, the number of registered Democrats in Lancaster County has doubled!   We picked up steam four years ago when our absolute numbers of new registrations started to beat Republican gains.  Since the last Presidential election, county Democrats have increased by over 18,000 while Republicans gained less than 2000.  That's more than a nine to one advantage. In percentage terms, it's over 20-1!  It's a reduction of margins by almost 17,000 in just less than four years.  That's huge!  Now we're seeing, and may continue to see, the actual number of Republicans in the county shrinking. 

In addition to this great disenchantment with Republican rule at all levels of government, our Party's election victories and the growth and strength of our local Democratic organization has had a cascading effect, feeding upon itself, success after success.  It is now acceptable, and even a source of pride, to be a Democrat in Lancaster County.