A crucial county in the swing state of Pennsylvania is flipping red for the first time in nearly 60 years, following a statewide and nationwide trend. Luzerne County, the most populous county in the Keystone State’s northeastern region, has officially registered more Republican voters than Democrats for the first time since 1970.

According to local WFMZ-TV 69 News, there are 87,415 registered Republicans in Luzerne County, against 87,332 registered Democrats, as of Monday morning. There are also 22,414 unaffiliated voters and 6,160 third-party voters. Luzerne had been a Democrat stronghold for decades, but former President Donald Trump won the county by eight points in 2020 and is poised to do so again by wider margins in November.

In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter said, “Pennsylvania is known as the Keystone state, and that moniker could not be more fitting for its role in the 2024 election. Without the state’s 19 electoral college votes, the paths to 270 for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump get much more difficult.” He added, “But, with a closely divided Congress, all eyes are on the state’s contested Senate race and competitive House races as well.”

Carpenter continued, “Luzerne County is probably the swingiest county in arguably the most crucial swing state, and with the news that Republicans outnumber Democrats in this key county for the first time in decades, suddenly the prospect of turning this state red at the presidential level, defeating longtime Democrat Senator Bob Casey, Jr., and Democrat Representative Matt Cartwright, is a real possibility.”

Just 10 years ago in 2014, Democrats held a lead of 47,322 registered voters over Republicans, with 111,233 Democrats registered to vote and only 63,911 Republicans. That lead has increasingly diminished over the past decade and Republicans now lead by 83 registered voters. This trend is not isolated to Luzerne County. According to Early Vote Action founder Scott Presler, Democrats have also lost their lead in Pennsylvania’s Bucks County. In 2020, there were 201,254 Democrats registered in Bucks and 185,672 Republicans, giving the Democrats an advantage of 15,582 registered voters. Now, there are 199,359 Democrats registered and 201,479 Republicans, giving Republicans a lead of 2,120 registered voters. Last year, Pennsylvania’s Beaver County was also flipped red.

Other states, like Virginia, have seen similar shifts away from Democratic Party enthusiasm. According to former state senator Glen Sturtevant (R), early voting has seen a significant uptick from prior years, with roughly 30,000 more ballots having been cast early than the same time in 2020, with a heavy Republican lean. Virginia’s solidly-red Washington County has reportedly seen a 150% early voting increase compared to 2020, Bland County has seen a 200% increase, and Smith County has seen an even greater increase.

While some battleground states are more hotly-contested, Trump has made inroads among Democrats. In Michigan, the Democratic mayor of Hamtramck, the most densely-populated municipality in the state and the nation’s only majority-Muslim city, formally endorsed Trump over Harris. “President Trump and I may not agree on everything, but I know he is a man of principles,” said mayor Ameer Ghalib. “I believe he is the right choice for this critical time. I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences.”

Additionally, a poll of Teamsters Union members showed that Trump is leading among the historically-Democrat-aligned voting bloc, especially in battleground states. Trump is leading Harris among the Teamsters by 18.6 points in Arizona, 15.6 points in Georgia, 33.9 points in Pennsylvania, nearly 30 points in Michigan, and 16.5 points in Wisconsin. This follows the Teamsters Union refusing to endorse Harris — the first time in decades that the union hasn’t endorsed a Democrat — after internal polling revealed that nearly 60% of union members supported Trump’s reelection campaign.

However, the Virginia Project, a voter outreach and election integrity organization, warned that polling data and voter registrations need to be accompanied by election integrity safeguards and lawyers. “Pennsylvania isn’t going to stop a 3AM ballot dump with voter registrations. The longer the question remains open and nobody can proffer a responsible party with a real plan, the more disturbing the situation is and the less likely we will carry that state,” the group warned.

The Virginia Project asked, “When Philly illegally kicks out observers, covers the windows of the polling place, and stuffs the ballot box, who exactly is going to do what exactly to stop it?” Pointing to the election integrity measures used in Virginia elections, the organization explained, “Here’s what would happen in Virginia. An observer would see something improper, and would immediately call the legal hotline. Inside 15 minutes lawyers would strike like a bolt of lightning and put everything on hold until a court can decide.”