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In Hillsborough, Democrats Exceed Republicans

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 11, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County is often labeled the bellwether of Florida politics.

As Hillsborough goes, so goes Florida, observes Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida political scientist.

It's worth noting, then, who is registering to vote in Hillsborough County.

As of last week, 651,604 county residents were registered to vote in the upcoming primary.

About 42 percent are Democrats, and roughly 34 percent are Republicans. The remaining voters either are registered with other parties or chose not to affiliate with any party.

The Democrats saw a spike in registration among blacks since 2006, though the increase wasn't as significant as in previous years. That's somewhat surprising considering the excitement over presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Michael Steinberg isn't concerned. Steinberg, chairman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, said the party had a strong push to register voters in 2004 and 2006, and that this year's numbers are good.

"It was sort of the low-hanging fruit we got in '04-'06," Steinberg said. "At some point there's a saturation, and it gets harder and harder to get people to register to vote."

Greg Truax, a spokesman for the Hillsborough County Republican Party, said although Democrats are registering more voters, Republicans have done well in local races. His examples: Six of seven county commissioners are Republicans, and all but one constitutional officer is Republican.

"Registration is important," Truax said, "and the end result is most important."

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