For the first time in 20 years, registered Republican voters have surpassed Democrats in the crucial battleground state of Nevada. This significant shift follows President Donald Trump’s victory in November, making him the first Republican to carry the state since 2004. As of January, there were 187 more active registered Republican voters than Democrats, according to a report released by the Nevada Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday. The last time Republicans held an edge in active voter registration was in 2007, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Nonpartisan voters, comprising about one-third of Nevada’s 2.1 million registered voters, have an advantage over both major political parties. “This historic achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment of Republicans across our great state,” the Nevada GOP said in response to the shift. The latest update reinforces Nevada’s status as a purple state, following President Trump’s victory there by 3.1 percentage points in November, a wider margin than in the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While Trump won all three Rust Belt states in 2016, he was unable to carry Nevada that year.
Nevada is currently led by a Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, though both of the state’s U.S. Senators, Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen, narrowly won re-election in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Given the ongoing trends, Democrats will likely need to allocate additional resources to defend the Senate seats or attempt to flip the governor’s mansion.
The GOP has also made significant gains in the traditionally blue state of New Jersey, which came much closer than anticipated in the November elections. In January, Republicans registered 10,000 new voters, while Democrats lost 2,000, continuing a trend that has persisted for months in the Garden State. Similar to Nevada, nonpartisan voters now outnumber active registered voters in both of the main political parties.
Republicans also flipped the traditionally blue Hillsborough County in Florida last month, further solidifying the Sunshine State’s status as a red stronghold. Once considered a swing state as recently as 2016, Florida now sees Republicans holding a net voter registration advantage of more than 1 million and securing several decisive wins since 2020.
