The Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito said the “unnerving” rising crime in Democratic-run Philadelphia is just one example of why Pennsylvania has seen a dramatic increase in voters registering as Republican.

“The crime rate has been escalating ever since the beginning of COVID and also with the George Floyd protests. With that has also come a real sharp spike in fentanyl overdoses,” Zito said on The Ingraham Angle.  

In discussing Philadelphia’s rise in unruly behavior and crime, Zito described a recent visit of hers when a group of bikers circled her car several times. 

“It felt like hours. It was probably 2 minutes, but it was just an unnerving experience,” she said. “You just have to think about the people who live in the city, who can’t move out of the city, who can’t get into the suburbs, that can’t afford it. And they are forced to reckon with this every day, and they are also forced for their children to have to experience this every day on their way to school.”

Zito suggested that Philadelphia’s rising crime is one reason more voters are registering as Republicans than Democrats in Pennsylvania.

“The Republicans have done a robust registering of new voters,” Zito said, noting that last October, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) instituted the ability for people to register to vote while signing up for their driver’s licenses. 

“Within 10 days, 55,000 new Republicans had registered,” she noted. “It was significant.”

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In addition to a shifting trend in voter registration, Democrats have also voiced concern about slumping voter turnout in Philadelphia since the 2020 elections. 

Additionally, 2020’s numbers obscured a small but material improvement for Trump in Philadelphia. He picked up 17.9% support against Biden, compared to 15.4% four years earlier.