Even before the April 22 primary, the chairman of Pennsylvania's Republican Party said the GOP would leave no stone unturned in its effort to woo back voters who flocked to the Democratic Party.
"We know everybody who switched," said Robert A. Gleason Jr. "When this (primary) election is over, we're going after those people. We're going to get them back."
It's turning out to be a pretty tough task.
In the nearly four months since the primary, the number of registered Republicans statewide has slipped by another 2,953, according to new data from the Department of State. In Lancaster County, there are 76 fewer Republicans as of Thursday.
Statistically speaking, they're relatively tiny decreases.
But during the same time, Democratic voter rolls continued to swell. Across the state since the primary, the party has added another 77,274 voters. There are another 3,357 Dems here in Lancaster County.
Michael Barley, a spokesman for the state GOP, said it will take time to recapture Republicans who re-registered as Democrats to vote in the hotly contested primary race between U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
"There's no quick solution to this. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of people &tstr; it's volunteers going door-to-door, calling people, legislators writing letters," Barley said. "It's not a quick fix. It's something we're going to have to work on through this election and for years to come."
County GOP Chairman Dave Dumeyer says it's a tough environment for Republican candidates, and that factor "trends down to the voters, too. I think we're fortunate we haven't had a lot more slippage."
Republicans have said that most of the pre-primary decline in GOP voters consisted of people switching to vote in the Democratic primary because there was no race on the Republican side. U.S. Sen. John McCain had the nomination locked up, giving Republicans no big races to decide in a closed-primary system.
County GOP workers such as Dumeyer and elected officials such as U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and former Gov. Tom Ridge are working to recapture former Republicans. Ridge taped an automated phone call last week encouraging people who recently moved into the state to register Republican.
"I've been out on my own trying to get a few of the people back," said Dumeyer, adding that "most of them have been fairly receptive."
Other former Republicans might be slow to switch back to the party, he said, because there is no reason to do so before the general election. They may wait until next year's primary.
As of this week, there are 4,277,383 registered Democrats statewide, an edge of 1,094,279 over the Republicans statewide, who have 3,183,104 voters.
In Lancaster County, there are 173,260 Republicans and 98,311 Democrats, according to county data — a GOP edge of 74,949.
Even though Democrats hold a big lead in voter registration in Pennsylvania, Obama's lead among likely voters is relatively small — only 5 points in the latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll.
But Dumeyer pointed out, "Just because these people have registered in another party doesn't mean they won't vote for the other candidate."
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A couple dozen McCain supporters braved the rain and thunderstorms to show their support for the likely Republican nominee Thursday night at Long's Park.
The gathering, part of a series of "McCain Nation" gatherings held nationwide, were treated to a live conference call with Cindy McCain, Rudy Giuliani and members of McCain's election team, said local campaign worker Bill Kiehl.
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If you're really, really eager to find out who Obama's going to pick as his running mate &tstr; and let's face it, who isn't? — the campaign has promised to notify supporters first, via text message or e-mail.
"People keep asking me if we're really going to announce Barack's VP directly to our supporters. The answer is yes," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in an e-mail to supporters this week.
"Let me be very clear. You are the ones who built this campaign, and Barack wants you to be the first to know who will join him in leading our movement for change."
To sign up, go to http://my.barackobama.com/vp or text the letters "VP" to 62262.
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U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, who represents Lancaster County, is facing a third challenger in his bid for a seventh two-year term in the House.
Constitution Party member Dan Frank, of Ephrata Township, is listed among the Pennsylvania Department of State's candidates for the 16th Congressional District seat.
Frank describes himself as a former Republican who says he "realized that the difference between the two parties is getting harder to distinguish each year. "
"The GOP, the so-called conservative party, has racked up record spending deficits, refused to secure our borders, increased government intrusion, and sponsors policies that send jobs off-shore," Frank said in a prepared statement.
"... The Democrats, the so-called party of the working man, have shown many of the same characteristics, which of course coincide with the party's mantra of more taxes and big government."
Frank said his top priority, if elected, would be to retain American jobs. He said that, if elected, he would serve only four terms.
Frank's Web site is http://www.danfrankforcongress.com.
Pitts also faces Democrat Bruce Slater and independent John A. Murphy, of Chester County, in the Nov. 4 election.
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State GOP Chairman Gleason has appointed Strasburg businesswoman and former U.S. Ambassador to Finland Marilyn Ware to be one of several at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention next month.
Also heading to Minneapolis for the Sept. 14 event from Lancaster County are county GOP Chairman Dumeyer and Donegal area vice chairman Dale Murray. The alternate delegates are state Rep. Gordon Denlinger; Conestoga Valley GOP Chairman Keith Greiner and Ron Paul supporter Nicole Quinn.
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Pitts this week praised the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow four Iraqi athletes to compete in the Beijing games. The committee had previously banned all Iraqi athletes.
"I am pleased the IOC reversed their decision and allowed the Iraqi athletes to participate. Unfortunately, the decision was made too late for three of the athletes to be able to compete," Pitts said.
Pitts had sent a letter to IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch requesting a reversal of the policy. In a prepared statement, Pitts said:
"Iraq, a newly democratic nation, was singled out by this policy, while the undemocratic conduct of countries like North Korea, Cuba, and China were left unaddressed. In fact, China, the host of this year's Games, failed to live up to many of its own commitments to the IOC."
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The Women's Republican Club of Lancaster County will host a program on the two basic types of political action committees in Pennsylvania at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Manheim Township Municipal Building, 1840 Municipal Drive.
The discussion will also highlight election finance laws and reporting requirements associated with PACs. Please call club president Linda Gordon at 569-4314 or e-mail her at wrcpresident@aol.com for more information.
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State Rep. John Bear will hold a town-hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Manheim Township Municipal Building, 1840 Municipal Drive. The Lititz Republican will field questions and talk about his priorities for the remainder of the 2007-08 legislative session.
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Four local Democrats — congressional candidate Slater, his campaign manager Greg Paulson, state Rep. Mike Sturla, and state Senate hopeful Jose Urdaneta — will compete in an Iron Chef cooking competition from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday at the AMVETS Post 19 pavilion, 715 Fairview Ave.
The $25-a-person ticket price gets you two beers, side dishes and whatever these fellas cook up. Call Linda Esbenshade at 295-4409 or e-mail mailto:linshade@verizon.net for more information.
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Lancaster County Democrats will hold their own convention party as delegates begin meeting in Denver, Colo., on Aug. 28. That night, local Dems will gather at Penn Cinema, 541 Airport Road, Lititz, to watch live television coverage of the Democratic National Convention on the theater's big screen.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 a person and can be purchased in advance by calling party headquarters at 299-5701 or going online at www.lancasterdems.com. They will also be available at the door.
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Local artist Jim Heston will present "You Must Remember This ... the George W. Bush years as seen through the lens of classic Hollywood movies" during First Friday on Sept. 5 at the Lancaster County Democratic headquarters, 53 N. Duke St. (rear). The exhibit runs from 5 to 9 p.m.
A special reception, featuring the cello and guitar music of David and Art Miron, will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.
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Elizabethtown College's political science department will host a panel of experts on Thursday, Nov. 6, to discuss "The First 100 Days of the ????? Administration." The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.
Staff writer Tom Murse can be reached at tmurse@LNPnews.com or 481-6021. Politically Speaking appears Fridays.