MENDOCINO CO., 10/8/26 — Sixty days before a statewide election, the California secretary of state takes a snapshot of the voter rolls. The new one, taken Sept. 4, shows Mendocino County with 1,147 fewer registered Democrats than it had at the same point in 2022. It has 1,579 more Republicans.
Democrats are still the biggest group by a wide margin: 24,751 voters, or 45.75% of the county’s 54,102. Four years ago they were 48.86%. Republicans are at 12,732, up from 21.04% of the rolls to 23.53%.
The rolls grew 2.1% while the county’s eligible population shrank by 1,244. So a bigger share of the people who can register have done so: 82.1%, up from 78.9%.
Republicans grew in 56 of California’s 58 counties, by 10% statewide, 11.2% in Sonoma County and 10.9% in Lake County. Mendocino County’s 14.2% beats all of them. Democrats grew statewide, by 1.4%, and in Sonoma and Napa counties. They shrank in Mendocino, Humboldt and Lake. Lake’s drop was 5.6%.
Inside the county, the change ran one direction in all five supervisor districts. Republicans were up 12% to 17%, and Democrats were down in each. The biggest Republican gain, 529 voters, came in Supervisor Madeline Cline’s District 1. That district is now the closest to even, at 4,129 Democrats to 3,697 Republicans. The biggest Democratic drop by share, 7.2%, came in Supervisor John Haschak’s District 3. Districts 4 and 5, represented by Supervisors Bernie Norvell and Ted Williams, stay the most Democratic. In District 5, Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 3-to-1.
Counties were to start mailing ballots by Oct. 5. The last day to register online for Nov. 3 is Oct. 19.
Readers should not confuse registration changes with changes in voter preferences or election outcomes.The Republican increase does not necessarily mean that all those additional registrants switched from the Democratic Party. Changes can also reflect newly registered voters, people changing their party affiliation, and other registration activity.
To understand what is happening in Mendocino County, I would want to see:
Party switching: How many people changed their registration from Democrat to Republican, or vice versa?
New registrations: How many newly registered voters joined each party?
No Party Preference: Did the number of voters registered without a party preference change?
Population changes: How did migration, deaths, and changes in the eligible voting population affect the numbers?
Election results: Do actual voting patterns support the suggestion that the electorate is changing politically?
Likewise, a decline in Democratic registration does not necessarily mean that every person who left the party now supports Republicans.
Numbers need context. Reporting percentage changes without examining the bigger picture can leave readers with a misleading impression of the county’s political landscape.
You ask if the electorate is changing politically. Hmm. Well let’s see here: “Republicans grew in 56 of California’s 58 counties, by 10% statewide.”
What’s that tell you? Answer:
a) Nothing is changing, staying the same
b) The electorate is changing
You’re having a dream, Dave. One day you will wake up and join the rest of us and make billionaires accountable to the laws of the land they live in.
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ror/154day-primary-2026/historical-reg-stats.pdf
Wet dream for the GOP…
Urbanist: Tell the truth. You are really bad at your own finances aren’t you. That creates jealousy. Are you also too lazy to work and learn new stuff? Can’t save any money? So you hate those who have made it.
Most billionaires have well-established corporations under which many brands and companies operate. The same companies provide jobs. Have you ever provided a paying job for someone else?
Also, many of the rich worked way harder than most people to get where they are. Being smart with their finance requires time and knowledge to get established.
This is something that you lack. It’s your own shortcomings that causes you to blame the rich for your own failures.
Not surprising. I can’t recall any Democrat saying they want to help American taxpaying citizens, address cost of living concerns, preserve security or anything else that’s positive. Just the usual; raise taxes, orange man bad, and hate anything American. I did not see one constructive improvement from all the No Kings protests. Hate and bitterness does not get the job done. You can quote me on that.
Republicans will roll up their sleeves and git to work.
Pull your head out of the sand, dude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me3pSi44a84
I have to wonder where you get your news, Dave. You can’t recall any Democrat wanting to address cost of living concerns? The Democrats have been banging away on this issue for the past year.
Pablo: Oh, you mean aggressive congressional oversight, subpoenas, and impeachment inquiries against the Trump administration? That’s what I hear. Maybe there was something about Obamacare tax credits along the way. That will make a difference.
Si? Amigo.
Part of the reason the Democrats are going down in Mendocino County is the north part of the county is losing a lot of people. The dope growers are leaving and many dope growers. Were hemp bubble capitalists? Who pretended they were socialists as they went to Costa Rica for the winter and snorted Coke.my area which used to be third district, but John hack and sack are third supervisor. Put the north part of spy rock and island mountain into the fourth district, the Fort Bragg district..He was afraid John pinch was gonna run against him so he mapped him out of the district where it always had been third district. Kind of a slimy thing to do, John, but now the third district is more Republican..Because the more dope growers leave, the more hard-working normal people that are left.They also switched our congressman districts . Congressman huffington, who’s the biggest libtard, probably in Congress .Now, only has the coast of Mendocino County, and they put the Eastern part of Mendocino County. In a way, more conservative area , Sacramento valley and Sierra foothills.Which is way more conservative? Thinking that we would change those districts into more of liberal districts, they might have a rude awakening. . By the next census in 3 years, I think Mendocino County will easily lose 10000 people..Especially the north county. As more and more dope, growers move And the hills are quiet again.Don’t let the gate hit you on the way out.
There is no Republican Party. There’s just MAGA. If you support this president, or any candidate who has plead fealty to him, then you are not a true conservative or Republican.
Here’s a lesson in life for ya: Things Change. Write that down.
The old Republican Party leaders Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole, etc., are history now. The GOP has moved on. It no longer chooses to lose with grace and dignity. The future of the country is too important for that old way of thinking. Not with the Democratic Socialists taking over the Democrat Party and what they want to do to our American way of life. Republicans have no other choice but to win. Make America Great as a global power or watch it turn into just another Third World country.
Yep, I agree with SummRidge.
The reality Dave is you and I probably agree on 80% of issues in the country. Part of the problem with our bipartisan political system is most people are forced to choose a side. You have the right to be okay with the corruption, financial irresponsibility, starting foreign wars for no legitimate reason, putting other countries best interests in front of our own, etc. I just hope that you and people like you are outnumbered at the polls. Democratic socialists are a good thing for our political system, but the reality is they are far outnumbered by MAGA and democrats. I’m hopeful a respectable conservative can rally the GOP party back to compete with MAGA and dems. We need strong leadership, free from outside financial influence, that make good choices within our capitalist system that work for the people and not the corporations and .1%.
I am not okay with your list. Quite the opposite:
-Corruption. Investigate and prosecute aggressively the fraud in government programs, especially in my state, corrupt California.
-Financial Irresponsibility. Neither party is addressing our national debt. Your Democratic socialists will only make it worse, not better. I would like to see the growing oil and gas industry use their gains to help pay down the debt.
-Starting foreign wars. No one is more cowardly than one who believes there is nothing worth fighting for. Stopping a terrorist led country from getting a nuclear weapon is worth fighting for and going to war over. Past Presidents did not step up to the Iranian threat. Trump did.
-Putting other countries first. Trump also forced NATO countries to pay their share for defense spending. Past Presidents let them off and America always paid. Trump fixed it. America First. America Always.
-Democratic Socialists. Everyone serves a purpose. The Democratic Socialists serve as a really bad example. It might be one of the few things most everyone agrees with, except you, of course. They want to seize the means for production, take away private property and redistribute wealth.
-Strong Leadership. One day we will all look back and remember when Trump was our President and admit we had strong, effective leadership. Especially in contrast to auto pen Biden as President.
So, in conclusion, be thankful. It won’t get much better and could get a lot worse.