Town voter gaps continue to shrink

Democrats reach 10,000 mark for first time

GREENWICH — Greenwich Democrats are celebrating registration numbers that put them over 10,000 voters in town for the first time in history.

But they continue to trail Republicans and unaffiliated voters on registrar rolls.

Unaffiliated voters this year have retained their status as the largest voting bloc in Greenwich, a title they took last year from Republicans.

According to the town Registrars of Voters Office, as of Thursday, the number of unaffiliateds in town was 13,837; registered

Republicans numbered 12,270; and Democrats, 10,170.

That represents a significant shift over the past couple of decades. A little over 20 years ago, Republicans enjoyed a more than two-to-one advantage over Democrats and a healthy lead over unafilliateds. Slowly but steadily, the numbers have tightened in the 2000s.

“We’re elated, and not just because of the numbers but from the vibe we get out there when our candidates are knocking on doors and talking to the people,” said Tony Turner, chair of the Democratic Town Committee. “We’re hearing from the people and getting emails and Facebook comments and it’s all been very positive.”

In 2018, there are three competitive races in Greenwich for the state Legislature, seats long held by Republicans.

“As the number of unaffiliated voters has increased, so has the importance of getting our message to them,” said Greenwich RTC Chair Richard DiPreta. “Parties must now work harder to earn the unaffiliated vote based on the issues. Republicans are focusing on getting out our message of cutting taxes, eliminating wasteful spending, and attracting business back to Connecticut.”

Turner also acknowledged the need to appeal to the town’s unaffiliated voters to be able to win elections.

“We are very much aware of the difficulty in being able to unseat incumbents,” Turner said. “It will be very hard to do . ... We believe we can do it.”

The ranks of unaffiliated voters have swelled across the state.

According to the Secretary of the State’s Office, 168,000 people have registered as unaffiliated voters in the state since the 2016 election. That is more than the number of new Republicans and Democrats combined,156,000.

“If anything that shows that in Greenwich the rate of unaffiliated voters is steady or even slower than the state given the trend we are seeing,” said Republican Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro III.

Gabe Rosenberg communications director in the Secretary of the State’s Office, said the unaffiliated rolls have been rising since 2008.

“I’ll leave the why up to the political scientists,” Rosenberg said.