© CBS 5TUCSON, AZ (AP) -
New numbers show that Republicans have an even bigger voter registration advantage in Arizona's Congressional District 8 than they had two years ago.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that figures released by the secretary of state Friday show there are currently 156,361 Republicans registered to vote in district, which covers Southern Arizona, including much of the east and north sides of Tucson. That's down from 159,045 in the fall of 2010 when GOP candidate Jesse Kelly narrowly lost to Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.
But Democratic registration numbers have fallen off even more significantly, from 140,114 to 130,645.
This year Kelly is taking on Giffords' former district director, Democrat Ron Barber and Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis.
Over all, registration is down in the district from 427,510 to 414,494.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
