PITTSBURGH — A significant number of voters in Western Pennsylvania are leaving the Democratic Party to become Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms, a trend that's taken shape over several years and has both parties split on what the reason for the pattern is.
From Jan. 1 to July 25, more than 8,100 Democrats changed their voter registration to Republican in Allegheny County and the adjacent Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties, according to Pennsylvania Department of State data.
Less than a third of that number — 2,500 — made the change in the opposite direction, and Republicans have held a similar advantage in persuading independents and third-party registrants to come aboard.
