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WILKES-BARRE — In case you haven’t noticed, the transformation of Luzerne County from a blue to a red county is continuing.

If you really haven’t noticed, then it’s probably because you saw some poll that told you Luzerne County is solidly in the Democrats’ camp.

Polls like that were rampant in 2016 when everywhere you looked, polls were being quoted:

“Hillary can’t lose.”

“Trump can’t win.”

“Dewey defeats Truman.”

Despite Trump consistently drawing crowds in the thousands — twice he attracted more than 11,000 right here in Wilkes-Barre Township at the arena — while Hillary Clinton couldn’t get 500 in Scranton, the polls and the liberal national media refused to see what was happening.

The Democrats didn’t see the Trump train that was about to hit them in 2016 and it appears, just three years later, they can’t see it on its way back in 2020.

As we know, or have been told, Luzerne County gave Donald Trump the presidency in 2016. The 45th president of the U.S. received such a large plurality here that it enabled him to win Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes. To carry the equation out, those 20 electoral votes were critical in Trump defeating Clinton, adding to his victories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.

I have an Ivy League friend who believes Joe Biden can win Pennsylvania.

Really? Why’s that? Because he’s from Scranton, right?

Biden was in Scranton recently and could barely get 300 supporters to come out to see him. If Trump were in town, another 11,000-plus would have been there.

Why? Because Trump speaks to middle America. He is for what they are for — bringing jobs back from overseas, protecting our borders, protecting the unborn child, protecting gun rights, halting illegal immigration.

Trump supporters identify with the egoistical billionaire president. They rally hard when they hear “fake news” and “drain the swamp” and when he tosses out insult after insult about his potential opponents, giving them less than complimentary nicknames. They could care less about the reports of vulgarity and lewd behavior. Trump, they say, is their man for the job because “he stands up for us.” And oh yeah, how about that economy? Irreverence only excites them more.

So as 2020 approaches, what chance is there that a Democrat can defeat the incumbent Republican president?

As of right now, the odds are stacked against the Dems.

Go down the list, one by one, and find a candidate that can handle a campaign against Trump and convince voters that they are better for the job than Trump is. Despite what the polls may say, despite what the liberal media might espouse, despite what registration numbers may indicate, Trump remains as popular as ever.

The 2019 General Election right here in presidential-deciding Luzerne County would suggest that Trump’s popularity has not waned one bit. In fact, Republicans have become more popular and many were elected.

Luzerne County’s registration figures show there are 105,548 registered Democrats and 77,576 Republicans. And there are 25,841 registered as “other.”

Now, of those 208,065 registered voters, only 56,770 voted — 27.7 percent turnout. And 17,940 voted straight party — 9.132 Democrats and 8,808 Republicans — pretty near even.

Statewide, two Republican women won seats on the state Superior Court. Republicans won seats on Luzerne County Council, Wilkes-Barre City Council and, yes, even on the longtime Democratic Plymouth Borough Council, where 18-year-old Republican Alec Ryncavage won a seat on the seven-member panel.

Change is in the political winds in Luzerne County.

So why should this worry anybody. Yes, it’s a shift to the Republican side for sure, but as stated above, there are reasons for that.

Candidates these days have to run for the people they serve, not for the party they represent. The Republican in the White House clearly gets that. Democrats on the other hand, not so much.

One would have thought that after Trump’s stunning victory in 2016 — and yes, he ran against the worst candidate the Democrats could find — that the party of the donkey would stop acting like one and realize why Trump is so popular.

From here, it appears the Democrats just don’t get it. Or they don’t want to get it.

They would rather believe polls and left-leaning rhetoric than listen to the American people, who after all, will participate in the only poll that really matters — the one on Election Day.

Watch for those 2020 turnout numbers.

In this 2016 photo, Trump supporters cheer then-candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_donaldtrump01-cmyk.jpg.optimal.jpgIn this 2016 photo, Trump supporters cheer then-candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. Times Leader file photo

Bill O’Boyle
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgBill O’Boyle Times Leader file photo

By Bill O’Boyle

[email protected]

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at [email protected].