#1
#1 out of 1
politics1d ago
Thousands of Appalachian voters flip from Democrat to Republican, narrowing registration lead
- West Virginia records 68,235 voters changing party affiliation since Jan. 2024, signaling a major shift before the May primary.
- Most switches were toward Republican registration, including 16,910 Democrats becoming Republican.
- A large share of unaffiliated voters moved to the GOP, with 20,003 joining the party.
- Democrats swapping to unaffiliated totaled 12,299, while 7,559 Republicans left the party.
- As of April 23, Republicans total 519,756, Democrats 327,089, and independents 301,933 in West Virginia.
- Officials say the closed primary likely drives the shifts by limiting who can vote in the GOP contest.
- The data come as West Virginia gears up for early in-person voting from April 29 to May 9.
- Del. Josh Holstein linked voter shifts to primary rules rather than broad ideological realignment.
- The shifts show Republicans gaining in some areas while Democrats lose ground overall in the state’s voter rolls.
Vote 0