The Home News Tribune/The Courier News
November 1, 2008
By Martin C. Bricketto

Local Democrats are hoping a boost in their party registration numbers also boosts their chances in federal and local elections on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Republicans, meanwhile, hope to continue a winning tradition in historically right-leaning areas such as Somerset and Hunterdon counties.

In Somerset County, there were 50,768 registered Democrats, 49,184 registered Republicans, and 93,225 unaffiliated voters as of Oct. 30, according to the state Division of Elections.

During the 2004 presidential contest, there were 38,564 Republicans, 23,446 Democrats and 110,010 unaffiliated voters, according to County Clerk Brett Radi.

What the numbers mean

Somerset County Democratic County Chairwoman Peg Schaffer said her party is excited and cautiously optimistic about the numbers.

Schaffer believes it's the first time in the county's history where registered Democrats have outnumbered registered Republicans.

"We've got 16 races going on, and that's not including the freeholder race, and we do outnumber them with sheer numbers right now," Schaffer said. "A big part of it is going to be getting the vote out and hoping the undecided voters are as fed up with Republican strangleholds both in the country and the county."

Somerset County Republican Chairman Dale Florio said there was a surge in undeclared voters switching to vote as part of either party for the Feb. 5 presidential primary.

There were 25,155 registered Democrats leading up to it, but 37,189 voted in that party's primary. Republican turnout, meanwhile, was about 75 percent, with 29,595 people voting.

"They were probably in almost all cases voters who leaned one way or the other," Florio said.

Asked what the registration numbers will mean Tuesday, Florio said, "let's just call us even now."

"A large turnout traditionally has helped us because the undeclared have broken our way," Florio said. "That's what we're focused on. We don't take any election for granted, and we're certainly not taking this one for granted."

According to the state Division of Elections, overall registration in Somerset County has jumped from 175,497 leading up to the June 3 primary to 193,285 as of Oct. 30. Unaffiliated voters increased by more than 15 percent from 80,637 to 93,225.

A hopeful party

Democrats are hoping the registration numbers affect the race for a 7th District U.S. House seat between Assemblywoman Linda Stender, D-Fanwood, and state Sen. Leonard Lance, R-Clinton Township. The candidates each hope to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-New Providence, who is not seeking re-election.

Stender spokeswoman Irene Lin said that registered Democrats now outnumber registered Republicans in the 7th District by 17,000.

Making up the registered voter gap in Somerset County alone could be important for the race. When Stender ran against Ferguson in 2006, the 3,185 more votes that Ferguson won in Somerset County proved critical to his 2,945-vote margin of victory.

"Somerset has always been seen as a battleground, so the fact that for the first time ever it has more Democrats than Republicans I think is huge for us," Lin said.

Lin also noted that the number of registered Democrats in neighboring Hunterdon County has increased by 77 percent during the past year from 9,962 in 2007 to more than 17,700 as of this October.

A spokeswoman for Lance's campaign did not return a request for comment.