Democrats in Pennsylvania — President Biden’s birthplace — are flipping to the Republican Party in droves, according to the swing state’s recent voter registration data.
Pennsylvania holds crucial importance for Biden’s reelection bid. He notably hailed Philadelphia campaign donors as the “backbone” of his presidential campaign earlier this year.
As of Dec. 18, 35,589 Democrats reregistered as Republicans in the state so far this year; in contrast, 15,622 Republicans switched to the Democratic Party, data from the state department shows.
The state trend was first reported Tuesday by Newsweek.
Biden’s ties to his home state deepen with wife Jill’s roots in Montgomery County and granddaughter Maisy’s recent graduation from the University of Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, the White House announced that Biden would make his first visit to Philadelphia on Jan. 6.
Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation — a Pennsylvania-based public policy think tank — said that while Pennsylvania is a swing state, “by all the polling, Joe Biden is unpopular here,” and much of it is attributed to the president’s “Bidenomics.”
“Voters are saying they’re not happy with Bidenomics and the economy, and I think that’s reflected in the registration and some of the voting patterns,” Benefield told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday.
“Whether Trump and Biden are at the top of the ticket or not, I do think it’s going to be pretty much one of the closest states next year,” he said.
Benefield suggested that a shift is occurring among blue-collar Democrats in the state, particularly those in the western region who have historically favored Republicans in presidential elections. This change seems to be permeating to lower-level elections, and it’s now becoming evident in their party registration.
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State voter registration data also indicates a significant trend for both parties, revealing that a substantial number of voters are disassociating themselves from party affiliation. Specifically, 20,908 Democrats and 18,927 Republicans chose to leave their respective party memberships.
In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by 1.2 percentage points to reclaim the state for the Democrats that Trump had flipped in 2016.
Pennsylvania will have 19 electoral votes up for grabs in 2024 — down one from 2020 — and the latest surveys indicate that Biden is either even with Trump or trailing slightly.
In 2020, Trump lost to Biden in Pennsylvania by just under 80,000 votes.
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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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