The seven battleground states will ultimately decide on the outcome of the 2024 election, with Pennsylvania being one of the most closely watched states. Former President Donald Trump managed to win the Keystone State in 2016 but lost to President Joe Biden four years later.
The two presidential candidates are neck-to-neck just weeks before the highly contentious election.
With the next POTUS most likely being determined by just a few votes in Pennsylvania, the candidates have spent much time and money reaching voters. However, that strategy doesn’t seem to work for Harris as more and more Democrats flee the party.
A new report from Newsweek found a whopping 103 percent increase in Pennsylvania voters abandoning the Democratic Party.
While the state has more registered Democrats than Republicans and Independents, the number of voters leaving it has increased in recent years. The data found that nearly twice as many Democrats switched to another party last year.
As of Monday, Pennsylvania’s Department of State found 3,958,835 Democrats, 3,646,110 Republicans, 1,085,677 unaffiliated voters, and 346,211 with "other" affiliations. In comparison, in 2023, 19,321 Pennsylvania voters changed their registration from Democrat to “other,” and 36,341 switched from Democrat to Republican. Ultimately, 55,662 once-registered Democrats have left the party. In 2024, at least 51,937 Democrats changed their party affiliation to "other," while 61,126 switched to Republican. In total, 113,063 registered voters in the state left the party.
In 2016, Trump just barely won Pennsylvania's twice-failed Democratic candidate against Hillary Clinton. However, in 2020, Biden flipped the state. Flash forward four years; the Keystone State is up in the air as it can swing from one party to the other.
An Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll of Pennsylvania voters found Trump is in the lead by one percentage point. However, a New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena College survey found Harris leading Trump by three percentage points.