GOP continues voter registration gains in April

New Jersey added 5,736 voters to its rolls in April, less than a tenth of whom registered as Democrats, according to state data. 

Democrats added 485 registrants last month, while the GOP continued their gains with 2,317 new voters. Another 2,980 registered as unaffiliated/independent voters.

New Jersey now has 6,565,285 registered voters as the state hurtles toward the June 10 primary.

Democrats still outnumber Republicans, 2,449,526 to 1,621,669. But the 828,000 difference is lower than the 1 million-voter advantage Democrats once had in the state. Republicans have been slowly but consistently closing the voter registration gap over the past year. 

About 2,419,000 New Jerseyans are registered as unaffiliated voters.

The continuing GOP gains come as Republicans campaign this year to win the governor’s mansion for the first time since 2013. Republicans hope now is the chance to turn the state purple after major right swings in both the 2021 gubernatorial race and November’s presidential election.

The consistent GOP growth is the opposite of what happened during Trump’s first term, when Democrats boosted their voter registration advantage to nearly 1 million.

Republicans are also gaining in competitive legislative districts. In the 8th legislative district, which elected one Democrat and one Republican to the Assembly in 2023, Republicans gained 42 voters, while Democrats lost 66 registrants.

Voters have until May 20 to register to vote in the June 10 primary.