Democrats gained nearly 20 times as many registered voters as Republicans in September, while Socialist registrations also outpaced the GOP.
TOMS RIVER, NJ — New Jersey is on the brink of change, and it doesn’t look good for the Republican Party, as socialists registered more voters last month than America’s Grand Old Party. Outside of a few major GOP strongholds like Ocean County, the party is floundering and headed for possibly more federal election defeats in November.
New Jersey Republicans finished September behind not only the Democrats. Even the state’s Socialist registration category posted a larger monthly gain.
The GOP finished 4th in new voter registrations in September, trailing not only the Democrats and the Socialist Democrats, but also independents.
Democrats gained 2,745 registered voters, Republicans added 141, and Socialist registrations increased by 162, according to the New Jersey Division of Elections’ monthly reports. Comparing the September 1 and October 1 totals puts the Socialist gain 21 above the Republican increase.
The figures measure net changes in party registration during September.
Democrats widen their advantage
The Democratic increase widened the party’s statewide registration lead over Republicans by another 2,604 voters heading toward November’s election.
The October 1 report counted 2,572,254 Democrats and 1,686,614 Republicans in New Jersey, a difference of 885,640. Socialist registrations totaled 7,739.
Those Socialist registrations occupy a separate category from Democratic registrations in the state’s records.
Unaffiliated voters account for most of the growth
The largest increase belonged to voters registered without a party affiliation. Their ranks grew by 12,571, accounting for roughly 80% of the state’s overall registration increase.
New Jersey’s voter rolls grew by 15,706 overall, reaching 6,725,177.
Ocean County Republicans post a stronger month locally
The statewide comparison played out differently in Ocean County, where Republicans gained 110 registered voters during September, compared with 78 for Democrats and 13 in the Socialist category.
Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore credits his organization’s outreach efforts in communities across the county. Gilmore said his organization remains strong in the county, where the GOP leads all but one major town, Brick Township.
Leadership turnover at the state level and years of statewide losses to Democrats have contributed to leadership turmoil at the top of the party.
Monmouth County Republicans also finished ahead of Democrats locally, adding 63 registered voters to the Democrats’ 38.
These monthly figures reflect the balance of additions, removals and affiliation changes on the voter rolls. They measure registration changes ahead of the election; the ballots will determine whether those gains translate into votes.