Democrats now outnumber Republicans by about 7,500 voters in SLO County, latest tally shows

Republicans are watching their voter registration numbers dwindle both along the coastal counties of the state and in the more conservative interior of California.

The scale of the change is dramatic as the two parties have traded places when it comes to voter preference numbers over the past two decades.

In February 2019 the state published a snapshot of voter registration by county, something that happens every two years.

At the time in San Luis Obispo County, the GOP outnumbered Democrats 58,641 to 58,493.

Now, four years later, Democrats number 69,759 voters vs. 62,195 Republicans. So Democrats increased their numbers by more than 11,000 while GOP numbers increased by about 3,500.

SLO County turned blue in a matter of a few years.

Today, 38.3% of voters call themselves Democrats while 34.2% say they are Republicans, according to state statistics.

The change is even more dramatic if you look back a few more years.

In February 2015, SLO County was a GOP stronghold with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by more than 10,000 registered voters, a 39.7% to 32.8% advantage.

Since 2015, however, Democrats have increased their numbers from about 49,000 to nearly 70,000, a gain of 21,000, compared to a 3,000-person increase in GOP numbers. That amounts to a 7-to-1 advantage in new registrations for Democrats over eight years.

How about 20 years ago? In February 2003, the GOP had 62,000 voters in the county, the same total the GOP has today. In 2003, however, Democrats numbered only 49,000.

Party registration trends happening in the Valley, too

What about in the San Joaquin Valley, where conservative politics has been the norm?

In Fresno County, a similar “trading places” trend is occurring.

In February 2003, 20 years ago, the GOP outnumbered Democrats by almost 5000, 151,781 to 147,039 in Fresno County. Fast forward to this year, and Fresno Democrats now number 197,477 compared to 160,468 Republicans.

In two decades, the GOP has gained less than 19,000 more voters in Fresno County while the Democrats have gained more than 50,000.

John Lindt is the editor of the news site Sierra2theSea.net.