A hotly contested presidential race, multiple state office nominations up for grabs and heavy recruiting of new voters have Oregonians moving to the Democratic party.

And the same is true in Coos County.

The party of Kennedy and Carter has been the most popular political group here the past eight years, with as many as 16,583 registered voters in 2000.  But in recent years, its membership has flagged somewhat. Not so this year.

Democratic numbers are on the rise, while the GOP has seen a decline in voters registered Republican.

As of Thursday, 15,089 voters are listed as Democrats, according to Coos County Clerk Terri Turi. That is up from 14,501 in  Nov-ember 2006. Since the last general election, Republicans have dropped from 13,025 registered voters to 12,593.

Molly Ford, vice chairwoman of the Coos County Democratic Central Committee, attributed the shift to the national media’s coverage of the presidential race.

“They are hearing about it in the media and they want to be part of the decision-making process,” she said.

Campaign volunteers in both the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama camps have helped, too, Ford said. Both organizations have led registration drives, sending volunteers out into the county to make house visits to recruit new Democrats.

In addition to new registrations, Democrats are getting existing voters to switch affiliations for the May 20 primary.

Between April 23, when ballot mailing labels were printed, to April 29 — the deadline for changing party affiliation — 278 Coos County voters switched parties, Turi said.

The majority, 237, became Democrats, Turi said, though she could not say whether they were previously Republicans, unaffiliated or aligned with a different party.

There’s been a similar shift at the statewide level, too.

According to The Associated Press, there are 845,196 registered Democrats, up by nearly 81,000 since January. In comparison, the Republican party has lost more than 4,500 this year, down to 683,371.

Some have suggested Republicans are registering as Democrats to influence the presidential race, and will switch back after May 20.

Fran Holland, editor of the Coos County Republican Women’s news-letter, said she has several friends who are registering as Democrats to vote for Obama, then will switch back for the general election.

“They don’t want Hillary, so they will vote for Obama,” she said. “That’s their choice, but I’m not changing.”

Ford agreed some may be employing such tactics, but she also noted a lot of young voters are registering, too, and they probably will stay in the Democratic fold for a long time.

“I think they are making their choice now, they are excited being involved and they will stay” in the party, she said.

Holland said her group would certainly like to see more registered Republicans in the county, but their primary objective is getting residents registered period. They do this by setting up a booth at Pony Village Mall every third week of the month, which they staff Monday through Saturday.

“We just try to get people to vote,” she said. “We don’t strong-arm them or anything. It’s not the American way.”

One reason Republicans may feel more inclined to switch parties this election season is because there really isn’t much to vote about on the GOP ticket. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., is opposed by retired ophthalmologist Gordon Leitch, but there is little doubt the incumbent will still be running for re-election in November. Otherwise, no other statewide offices are contested on the Republican side.

The opposite is true on the Democratic side. Four candidates, Kate Brown of Portland, Rick Metsger of Welches, Vicki Walker of Eugene and Paul Wells of Newberg, are vying for secretary of state. Two candidates, John Kroger and Greg Macpherson of Lake Oswego, are battling for the state’s attorney general. And there also are six candidates hoping to be the Democratic candidates with a chance to unseat Sen. Smith in November. They include Pavel Goberman, David Loera, Jeff Merkley, Candy Neville, Steve Novick and Roger Obrist.

The only competitive race in Coos County is for county commissioner between incumbent John Griffith of Coos Bay and Bob Main of Coquille.

Local state representatives Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, and Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, will face opposition, but not until the general election. Krieger will face Democrat Rick Goche of Coquille and Roblan will be opposed by Republican Al Pearn of Florence. They also are running unopposed in the primary election.

Voters in Coos Bay will be asked to vote on a ballot measure proposing a $6.9 million bond to build a new fire station in downtown Coos Bay to replace the existing facility that proponents say is too small and in need of repair.

Ballots were mailed to registered voters on Friday. They can be returned by mail or dropped off at eight locations around the county.

For more information, those interested can call the Coos County Elections Department at 396-3121, ext. 278.