PA Party Registration Slow to Change

The latest numbers from the Pennsylvania Department of State shows political party registration has essentially remained static since last year's Presidential election. 9,100 Republicans have shifted their registration to Democrat since January and 9,500 Democrats have joined the GOP. That means Democrats still lead Republicans by about one million registrations. Before last years presidential primary many republicans switched parties to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. Christopher Borick is a political scientist at Muhlenberg College. He says he thinks moderates who left the GOP last year aren't coming back any time soon. “I doubt you'll see the same type of dramatic shift that you've seen in recent years in the period leading up to the 2010 election. Maybe after that you'll see some more movement, but in the next few years I don't think you'll see major shifts like you have in the past,” says Borick. Recent shifts in moderate voters played a large role in Senator Arlen Specter's decision to switch parties. Polls showed a smaller, more conservative GOP voting base was prepared to oust him in next year's primary, due to a long track record of voting with Democrats on major issues.