With less than two weeks to go until the voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania for the Nov. 3 general election, Republicans’ door-to-door strategy is paying rich dividends, according to registration statistics through last Friday.

Despite polls showing that Democrat Joe Biden is leading incumbent President Donald Trump, voter registration tells a compelling narrative that is showing why Trump has been cutting into this margin. The deadline to register is Oct. 19.

The GOP strategy to seek face-to-face support despite a COVID-19 worldwide pandemic seems to be currying favor with Pennsylvania voters. On the other hand, the Democrats, taking a cue from the top of the ticket, have limited door-to-door campaigning, citing safety concerns for both prospective voters and volunteers.

The result has been startling: Since the November 2019 general election, Republicans have registered 180,584 voters, while the Democrats have registered just about half of that number - 90,814. Since the June 2 primary, the ratio has been even greater than 2 to 1 - 135,619 to 57,985.

In the five-county Times News region since June 2, Republicans dominated all five, adding 11,299 voters compared to the Democrats’ 6,136. The breakdown shows Carbon: 1,153-46; Schuylkill: 1,889 to a loss of 65; Monroe: 1,736-1,481; Lehigh: 3,179-2,417, and Northampton: 3,342-2,257. Luzerne County registered 3,513 Republicans and just 185 Democrats, while neighboring Lackawanna County, a one-time impenetrable Democratic stronghold, saw Republicans gaining 2,150 to 560.

The only counties to show more Democrat registration gains than Republicans were: Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Dauphin.

Democrats lost total registration numbers vs. 2019 in 33 of the state’s 67 counties while Republicans declined in just two - Berks and Sullivan.

In 2016, Trump carried Pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton and, in the process, captured the Keystone State’s 20 electoral votes. In our area, Trump carried Carbon, Schuylkill and Northampton while Clinton had more votes in Lehigh and Monroe. Trump carried Luzerne, but Clinton topped him in Lackawanna.

Pennsylvania has been labeled as one of the battleground states again in this year’s election. In fact, some analysts have flat-out said that as Pennsylvania goes, so goes the election.

Biden has criticized Trump and his supporters for the traditional door-to-door campaigning, claiming that it is not safe during a pandemic with such a contagious disease.

Republicans have been using this effective strategy in Pennsylvania and other crucial swing states for close to a year. It has resulted in more than 116 million new voter contacts during that time, according to a campaign spokesperson.

They contend that they have conducted the effort safely despite the pandemic by taking the necessary precautions. President Trump, who has frequently downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic, tested positive for the virus, as did his wife, last week.

Alarmed by the Republicans’ stunning results, Democrats are changing tactics with just four weeks to go until Election Day and have begun to canvass voters in battleground states, including Pennsylvania.

Despite the significant gains, Democrats still have a commanding voter registration lead in Pennsylvania with nearly 4.2 million registered while the Republicans have about 3.5 million registered voters even with the recent gains. There also are about 1.2 million independent and third-party registered voters.

According to RealClearPolitics, the average of a dozen major national polls shows Biden with a 7.2% lead over Trump as of last Friday, but this lead has steadily narrowed from the summer when it was in double digits, and Republicans are convinced that their more “hands on” strategy eventually will win the day.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com