No question, the tide turned in Delco this year. One need only check the numbers to see that. Where Republicans once held a lofty 2-1 margin over registered Democrats, there is now less than a 20,000 person difference between the two camps.
One local Democratic leader recently told me this represented a "sea change" in Delco politics: Out with the old guard, in with the new blood. It's only a matter of time before we have Democrats on county council, taking over local school boards, etc. etc.
Well, call me a cynic, but I'm skeptical. This swing for the Dems, I think, can be wholly attributed to the high interest in the presidential election and the on-the-ground efforts of the local Obama team; nothing more.
Rudy Giuliani might want to take note, by the way, that when you have a community organizer heading up the ticket, that might mean the people working under him will have a pretty good notion of how to organize a community to do things like, say, vote.
But whether the local Democratic Party will be able to take any lessons away from those grassroots efforts and capitalize on the momentum of a presidential win in an off-year is yet to be seen. I mean, let's be realistic here - while many of the voters who came out Tuesday aren't likely to jump ship from their Democratic Party registration, they've also already done what they set out to do: vote for Barack Obama. And let's not forget there was a lot of ticket-splitting for incumbent Republicans. So if they come back in high numbers next year for any local races whatsoever, I'll be shocked.
Democrats should also keep in mind that the GOP is still the majority party in Delco and they're just spoiling for a rematch.
A historic victory for the Dems? Yes, absolutely. But a sea change? Much like a universal health care plan that works, I'll believe it when I see it.