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Is the Democratic Party growing in the traditional Republican stronghold of Warren County?

A Warren County Voter Summary report published July 18 by the Warren County Board of Elections lists the number of registered Democrats as having jumped to 31,903 for the March primaries, compared to 44,440 registered Republicans and 57,628 nonpartisan. Prior to the March primaries, only 12,440 registered voters were Democrats, compared to 41,377 registered Republicans and 77,237 nonpartisan.

Keir Holeman, chairman of the Warren County Board of Elections, said the nature of the primary system, wherein a voter requests a Democratic, Republican, or non-partisan ballot, can skew the numbers.

"The change in registration shows a lot of interest in a particularly close race," Holeman said. "Other than that, I can't speculate on any reasons for the growth."

Local political leaders, however, have drawn different conclusions.

"The population growth has brought greater diversity to the area," said Anne Howard, vice chairman of the Warren County Democratic Party.

While Dems grew by nearly 8,500 in the past four years, Republicans in growing Warren County also grew by more than 16,000 registered voters since the 2004 election.

"There was a higher Democratic turnout because it was a very interesting race for them," said Tom Grossmann, chairman of the Warren County Republican Party. " My guess is, we'll have a similar voting pattern (Nov. 4) to what we've had in the past."

Grossmann said the vast majority of Warren County residents are independent, but ultimately vote with a conservative mindset.

Both sides dismiss the notion that many people voting the Democratic ticket in March did so just to tamper with the Democratic ticket.

Howard noted that the Warren County sheriff was then being contested in a wide-open three-person race that could have only been voted on by Republicans.

The growth of registered Democrats in 2008 also cannot hide that there are no Democrats on the November ballot for any county or city positions.

"The committee is always searching for someone to run," Howard said. "I suspect over time people will feel like they have a fighting chance and start to. It's still risky."

"Everything has steps," said Jeff Leis, head of the Warren County Democratic Party. "We're still at the point of just doing everything we can to gather Democrats in the area and provide a bit of commonality."