Republicans outnumber Dems in Bucks, but in other ways remain underdogs

Bucks County flipped red last June, with Republican residents outnumbering Democrats for the first time in well over a decade. Republicans now enjoy a nearly 10,000-voter advantage — not a forbidding one in a county of almost 480,000 voters, but nontrivial. In November, a greater number of Bucks would vote Republican than Democratic for president for the first time since 1988. Local Republicans crushed a massive challenge.

But with this year’s elections, they could face a bigger one. Five county row offices, four county judgeships, and countless municipal roles are at stake this fall. And so far this year, the GOP finds itself underwater in terms of both turnout and fundraising.

The May primary gave the county parties the only pre-general election snapshot of turnout readiness they’ll see, but it showed Democrats getting a formidable jump on their foes. District attorney candidate Joe Khan, a former Bucks solicitor, received 14,333 more votes from his fellow Democrats than his incumbent opponent Jennifer Schorn got from Republicans. And that was the smallest gap in the row office totals, with other disparities reaching roughly 15,000 votes. The judge primaries demonstrated a similar Democratic edge.

Earlier, this would have looked unusual in a municipal election year with no contests for president, Congress, governor, or state legislators. Republicans previously dominated in these “off-year” battles; that’s why Philadelphia’s collar counties could still sometimes elect GOP row officers and judges well after their ability to shore up Republican White House contenders faded at the turn of the century.




https://www.bucksindependence.com/republicans-outnumber-dems-in-bucks-but-in-other-ways-remain-underdogs/