California Democrats said today that a new report on the state’s voting registration trends is proof that the Party is gaining momentum ahead of the June and November elections.

According to the report, Democrats added 170,918 voters to the rolls, Decline to State voters increased by 26,532, and Republicans lost 8,759 registrants. The number of Democrats in the state now number 6,920,324 and account for 43.54 percent of the electorate. There are 3,069 Decline to States, which comprise 19.31 percent. The 5,220,666 Republicans make up 32.84 percent of the electorate.

“The Democratic voter registration train in California continues to accelerate, while the Republican train has jumped off the tracks,” said Art Torres, the chair of the California Democratic Party. “183,189 voters registered during those 73 days, and 93.3% of them are Democrats. This is a number not seen since the days of Watergate in the mid-1970s,” he said.

Allan Hoffenblum, an analyst for the California Target Book, said the February 5 presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama did much to spike Democratic registrations. He also said the unpopularity of the Republican brand in the state, coupled with the dire financial state of California Republican Party, also had an effect.

Hector Barajas, a spokesman for the California Republican Party, said the state Party was set to announce a new program in the next several days aimed at revamping its voter registration efforts.“We’re going to put serious money behind it,” he added.

Hoffenblum said the new registration numbers would likely prove most helpful to Democrats in legislative races. But he cautioned that the new Democratic registrants could yet crossover and vote in the Republican column come November.