Forget Green… Nassau Goes Blue

from walkradio.com...
Nassau County has now joined much of the rest of the state in terms of its political stance.

Registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Nassau County, once one of the country’s foremost Republican strongholds.

The historic shift in voter registration “marks a watershed event in the national political landscape,” said Party Chairman Jay Jacobs on Wednesday.

The county’s move comes just a week for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain will debate in Nassau for the third and final presidential debate. The debate will be held next Wednesday at Hofstra University.

For decades the county had been such a Republican stronghold that President Ronald Reagan once said, “When a Republican dies and goes to heaven it looks a lot like Nassau County.”

The county’s shift can be traced back to 2001 when County Executive Tom Suozzi took office.

As of Tuesday, Democrats outnumbered registered Republican voters by 118 votes. In 2002, the Republican had the stronghold by more than 66,000 votes.-The AP contributed to this report