Republicans have voter advantage in Pennsylvania
Republicans have a voter registration advantage in a key county of the important swing state of Pennsylvania.
Fox News has learned from local officials that Luzerne County has begun to turn red.
Many are wondering, given Luzerne County's background, whether this is a sign of things to come in the 2024 presidential election.
Either way, this has to be music to the ears of former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans.
Here are the details:
For those unfamiliar with Luzerne County, Fox News reports, that it is the "home of the Democratic stronghold of Wilkes-Barre, and surrounded by working-class cities like Hazleton and Pittston."
As an added bonus, Luzerne County also happens to be located within a few miles of President Joe Biden's birthplace.
Fox reports that, as of Thursday - Sept. 26. 2024 - there are "at least 83 more Republicans on the rolls [in Luzerne County] than Democrats." This, of course, is not the biggest lead anyone has ever seen, but that does not mean it is unimportant.
It is worth noting that not all voter registration forms in Luzerne County have been counted. An official told Fox, "there are also several thousand voter registration forms yet to be processed by county officials in Wilkes-Barre, [but] [t]he trend would suggest somewhere around two-thirds could go to the Republicans."
We'll have to see if this does indeed turn out to be true.
Background
One cannot overemphasize the importance of Pennsylvania in the upcoming presidential election. The state's 20 electoral votes could swing the 2024 election one way or the other.
Local politicians have suggested that things are looking good for Trump.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), for example, recently said:
Trump has created a special kind of hold within the coronet he’s remade – the party – and he has a special kind of place in Pennsylvania, and I think that only deepened after the first assassination attempt.
He added:
Trump has created a special kind of hold within the coronet he’s remade – the party – and he has a special kind of place in Pennsylvania, and I think that only deepened after the first assassination attempt. And I joked that his signs became like the state flower – and you see that everywhere.
Trump lost Virginia, in the 2020 presidential election, by about 80,000, which was just over one percentage point. Trump, in that election, did win Luzerne County. We'll have to see if, this time around, he can win the county and the state.