New data shows political realignment in Maricopa County

As the country nears President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second presidency, newly released data from Maricopa County points to potential political realignment among voters in the Phoenix area.

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office revealed party affiliate changes for March. More than 7,600 voter records were updated, and more than half switched to what the county counts as “other,” which includes independents, no party preference and other parties not officially recognized.

Of those approximately 4,000 newly independent voters, about 1,900, were registered Democrats and 1,209 were Republicans. Nearly 600 were previously already categorized under “other,” and about 200 were registered to the “No Labels” group.

Republicans were the second-fastest-growing group of voters in March, according to the data. A total of 1,582 voters became registered Republicans, with a vast majority previously being those grouped under “other.” What does this mean for Democrats and Republican candidates and future elections?

Chuck Coughlin, President and CEO of HighGround, Inc., and Jason Barraza, Partner at Veridus, joined us to discuss.

“When we look at the response that happens with voters when they are registering, they are being asked to pick a decision between what each party is offering,” Barraza said. “As Democrats are looking at what the party is offering, we saw a lot of talk after the election that the voters did not like what the Democratic party’s message was, what they were packaging and bringing to the voters.”

Coughlin said people who leave the Republican party are probably doing so because they want the party to help people instead of “vilifying them.”

“We have a history, both Democrat and Republican, of not liking being told what to do. We like choices, but we don’t like being told what to do by power leads,” Coughlin said.