The number of independent voters increased in New York’s Long Island, Nassau County’s number overtook Republican for the first time in 20 years

According to the latest voter registration data released by the New York State Elections Bureau,long Island The number of independent voters in Nassau County nearly exceeds 314,000republican party Out of 307,000 people, for the first time in at least 20 years. A similar trend has been seen in Suffolk County, where the number of independent voters equals that of Republicans.

Data as of November 1 shows there are approximately 313,876 independent voters and 306,837 Republican voters in Nassau County. Independent voters account for 31% of the county’s active voters, and Republicans account for 30%.democratic party Still in first place with 37%.

Long Island was once an important voting base for the New York Republican Party. However, in this gubernatorial election, the Republican nominee, Nassau County Commissioner Bruce Blakeman, lost to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who was seeking re-election. He also failed to gain ground in Nassau County, which he chaired.

An analysis by Newsday showed that the number of independent voters in Nassau County was only 21% in 2006 and has continued to increase since then. They were still at 28% in February this year and increased to 31% in November. Since the 2024 presidential election, the number of independent voters in Nassau County has increased by approximately 36,120.

The number of independent voters in Suffolk County has grown to approximately 345,000, accounting for 31% of the county’s voters, the same proportion as the Republican Party, while the Democratic Party has 33%. The total number of independent voters in Long Island’s two counties reached 658,823, an increase of nearly 56,000 from 2024, an increase of more than 9%.

Lawrence Levy, executive director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said the increase in independent voters reflects public disillusionment with both the Democratic and Republican political parties. He believes this group of voters could hold the key to future elections, reviving competition in constituencies where the results were relatively clear.

Levy also said the group includes a mix of conservative, moderate and liberal voters. Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Cairo also pointed out that more and more voters no longer vote strictly on party lines, and the Republican Party still enjoys the support of a larger number of independent voters than in the past.

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Party and Nassau County Democratic Party, believes that voters are skeptical about the Republican Party’s right-wing stances and the increasingly active socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which has led some to reject the two-party label.