California GOP Registered Voters Rise, DEM Registered Voters Fall In Latest Secretary Of State Voter Registration Data

According to new statistics released by the California Secretary of State’s office this week, the number of registered Democratic voters in California dipped for the first time this century, with the number of registered Republicans rebounding back in the past few years.

The reports, the 60-day Report of Registration before the 2024 Primary election and the 154-day Report of registration before the primary, found the following on registered voter numbers going back to the 2016 election when combined:

In total, since October 2023, Republicans gained over 46,000 registered voters statewide, while Democrats the lost 30,000 and those with no party listed going down by 70,000. When broken down by county, the GOP gained voters in all but two counties: Alpine and Mono. Even liberal hotspot counties such as San Francisco and Alameda managed to gain Republican voters.

Experts told the Globe that the boost in GOP voters and the downturn in Democratic voters were because of many factors, including the upcoming Republican primary attracting people to register, the rise of Latino and white voters in the state slowly going more Republican, President Joe Biden’s popularity hitting record lows, a rise in crime and homelessness largely being attributed to the policies of Democrats and an overall backlash towards Democratic policies within the state.

“I’m not surprised to see it because not only have California Republicans shown up with the solutions that they have, but California Democrats have given them so much to work with,” said California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson in response to the rise on Friday. “It’s definitely been about playing the long game; it’s been that from day 1 in February of 2019. We wanted to make sure we’re building something here in California that people would continue to build on long after the leadership of the party left. It’s exciting to watch.”

However, others hold a more cautious view.

“For the Republicans in California, this is a hopeful sign,” said political strategist Melonie Greer, who focuses on elections in Western states, to the Globe on Friday. “They aren’t back at 2016 levels percentage-wise, but it did shoot up. And more to that, this is the most registered Republicans in the state in total that we have seen since the early to mid 2000’s. It’s at least a 20-year high.”

“Conversely, you also have to see the bigger picture, and that is that Democrats still outnumber Republicans roughly 2 to 1. The GOP is bouncing back from the bottom, but it is a long way up. But, you know, it’s a start. Democrats are obviously still feeling supreme, but their pride did take a bit of a hit. This is the first time they have lost members in a long time. And it may not seem like much, losing 30,000, but you have to see at the same time the GOP gained 46,000. Alarm bells aren’t going off just yet, but the fact that the GOP is gaining members this fast in a state where Democrats have said that people have been switching parties or leaving the state is worrisome.”

“If you’re Republican, don’t start dancing in the street just yet. These are modest gains and losses in a short period of time. But, at the same time, the GOP has proven that they aren’t dead. They fell off that mountain, but the Democrats are now looking down and are bewildered that they are climbing back up again. If we see Democratic losses and Republican gains in the state over the next few years, then yeah, the turnaround is happening big time. Right now, these are very encouraging signs for the GOP.”

Further SOS voter registration figures are likely to come out before the Primary election later this year.