The Philly suburbs aren't the only suburbs where Democrats are on the rise in Pennsylvania
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sara Agerton is the only Democrat on the seven-person borough council in Mechanicsburg — and the only woman. She won her seat in this small city outside Harrisburg by just 16 votes last year. On her way to council meetings on Tuesday nights, she drives past lawn after lawn displaying Trump signs.
But Agerton sees cracks in the Republican foundation of her hometown, and in surrounding Cumberland County.
“Mechanicsburg is a Republican town, but it’s getting closer,” Agerton, 40, said this week. “You’re seeing other towns on the outskirts taking a dive into the moderate-to-left views. Am I predicting a landslide? Absolutely not. But we’re taking back a little at a time.”
In nearby Carlisle, Democrats swept elections for borough council in 2019. Newly formed Democratic clubs keep popping up in other Harrisburg suburbs like Camp Hill, Upper Allen Township, and Silver Spring Township. And a congressional race in a district that includes Cumberland is seen as one of the most competitive in the country. The county is starting to look more like Pennsylvania as a whole, with rural areas solidly Republican, while smaller cities and more affluent suburbs are starting to trend more Democratic.
Cumberland County is also one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. Housing developments are sprouting, forcing school districts to expand. This area on the west shore of the Susquehanna River is still overwhelmingly Republican. But Democrats are slowly growing their ranks, with a net gain of 8,500 registered voters since 2016. Republicans added 6,600 in that time period. Independent and third-party voters increased by about 5,000.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/democrats-harrisburg-suburbs-cumberland-county-20200906.html
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