GOP Registers 6K+ New Voters In Bucks After Aggressive Canvass

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — With less than a month to go before Election Day, polls in battleground Pennsylvania are favoring Democrat Joe Biden over Republican President Donald Trump. But, in Bucks County and elsewhere, Republicans are pointing to a number they like better — the number of newly registered voters.

Since June, there have been 6,622 newly registered Republican voters in Bucks County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Meanwhile, Democrats registered just 3,668 new voters — a difference of 2,954.

In 2016, Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania by just 44,000 votes, which was less than 1 percent of the votes cast.

The Bucks County numbers follow a statewide trend.

Since the June 2 primary elections, Republicans have registered 135,619 new voters, according to the latest campaign statistics from the state. Democrats have registered less than half of that, with 57,985 new voters.

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Political analysts are pointing to a key strategic difference to help explain those numbers. During at least part of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump campaign continued aggressive door-to-door canvassing throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere, while the Biden camp and other Democrats, by and large, moved their efforts to digital.

Bucks County Republican Committee Chairwoman Pat Poprik said local Republicans have been canvassing since June or July. She said those going out are given guidance on wearing masks and other coronavirus safety precautions and have been well received.

"We've had tons of people out doing canvassing — tons," Poprik said. "They go out almost every day. The comments I get back are that the people really appreciate it. They're distancing. They're wearing masks. But the people like to be able to talk."

Officials with the Bucks County Democratic Committee had not provided comment for this story by Thursday afternoon. But, nationally, Democrats have criticized the Republican strategy, saying it put workers' health and lives at risk.

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But, the canvassing gap may be about to change. Biden's campaign announced last week that it was about to launch door-to-door canvassing in several battleground states, including Pennsylvania. The Associated Press reported that Biden volunteers were scheduled to hit the streets over the weekend in Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

In Bucks, Poprik said she doesn't think canvassing has been the only difference. She thinks Bucks County voters are responding to the civil unrest over police violence in Philadelphia and elsewhere and other issues she says favor the GOP.

"The unrest is frightening to people in Bucks County right now, because they are really concerned and I think they are coming out in huge numbers to register ...," she said. "They want the police funded. They want a strong economy. They want the things we run on."

But, with Trump, himself, sick with the coronavirus, the most recent polls were showing Biden's message also resonating with voters. A Monmouth University poll released Tuesday showed Biden up by 12 points — 54 percent to 42 percent — in Pennsylvania.

Surveyed on the health crisis, 52 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they trust Biden more to handle the coronavirus pandemic, while 32 percent gave the edge to Trump. Among those contacted after news of Trump's infection broke, it was 52 percent for Biden and 29 percent for Trump.