Republicans have expanded their lead in registered voters in Arizona according to data published Friday by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, gaining nearly 110,000 more registered voters between July 30 and October 1.
The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) boasted 1,562,091 registered voters on October 1, according to the Arizona Secretary of State.
Compared to the last reporting period that ended on July 30, Republicans have gained 107,125 voters, representing a nearly 7 percent increase in the number of voters registered Republicans.
Over the same time period, just 70,840 new voters registered as a Democratic voter. The Arizona Democrats now have 1,266,536 registered voters.
When compared to October 2023, the number of Arizonans registered Republican increased 117,138, while Democrats saw a net gain of just 13,906 new registered voters.
There are an additional 1,471,309 Arizonans who are not registered with a political party, making them independent voters. Another 31,132 voters are registered Libertarians and 4,187 are registered with the Green Party, which regained its status as a recognized party in Arizona last year.
An additional 32,338 voters are registered with the No Labels party, a third party that sought to recruit a presidential candidate for voters upset with the prospective choices of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. In April the group reportedly determined it would not find a candidate.
The statewide gains for Republicans in Arizona follow earlier gains in Maricopa County, where Republicans in May increased their lead over Democrats from 4 percent to 7 percent in the critical county that boasts more than 2 million of Arizona’s 4.3 million voters.
With early voting and mail-in voting currently underway in Arizona, voters in Maricopa County have reported long lines, and Republicans have accused county officials of insufficiently preparing for the 2024 elections.
Maricopa County has already warned it expects delays in determining election winners, with officials warning it may take nearly two weeks for county officials to count votes.
Polling suggests Trump continues to lead Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona, according to the RealClearPolling data aggregate, which shows the former president with a 1.5 percent lead over Harris.
The advantage in registered voters could also bode well for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, who RealClearPolling shows polling behind Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) by 6.1 percent, but who saw gains against Gallego in two surveys published after their debate earlier this month.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Voters Line Up” by GAO CC0.
