Strong voter turnout in Allegheny County and lower turnout in Philadelphia raises questions about both regions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Despite fewer registered voters, Allegheny County out-voted Philadelphia County in this year's general election.
Voters in Allegheny County turned out to vote, while those in Philadelphia County were just so-so, which meant Allegheny outvoted its bigger brother by 67,000 votes.
"That is really going to translate into greater political influence," Democratic political strategist J.J. Balaban of Philadelphia said. "People around the state are paying attention to that sort of thing."
Balaban said Allegheny County's strength helps in Democratic primaries but the surrounding counties have lost influence in Democratic contests.
"The challenge is the whole Pittsburgh region as a whole has seen its influence decrease," Balaban said. "Because while Allegheny County's influence has increased, what you have seen is a massive re-registration of Democrats changing to Republicans in the collar counties around Allegheny."
That means outlying counties in this region are less important in Democratic primaries, giving candidates from the Philadelphia region a better chance to win Democratic nominations. But Republican political strategist Ben Wren of Greensburg says that makes this region more important in Republican party politics.
"If you're going to win as a Republican in Pennsylvania, you've got to have a strong turnout out of western Pennsylvania," Wren said. "And you have to perform well out here, and Republicans in Harrisburg know it."
The truth is both parties need support at both ends of the state to win statewide, but it's Democrats who are worried about the drop off this year in votes out of Philadelphia.
"A fallout in votes in Philadelphia is really calamitous to winning statewide," Balaban said.
"It's going to require the folks in Allegheny County going out to Philadelphia and sharing some of our playbook with them," political analyst Khari Mosley said. "So as we go into 2024, we can really figure out what we really need to do to reengage voters in the city of Philadelphia to figure out where the disconnect is."