Fresno County has certified its first voter-registration numbers of the year, and the Democratic Party continues to close the gap with the rival Republican Party. The gap is now just 639 voters.

Whether that translates into wins at the ballot box remains to be seen.

Republicans surpassed Democrats a decade ago, and by 2004 had widened the gap countywide to more than 23,500 voters.

Since then, however, the Democrats have been chipping away at the advantage.
In October 2004, Democrats had 140,400 registered voters. Now, they have 157,899. In the meantime, the Republicans have gone from 164,073 in 2004 to 158,538.

Last November, presidential candidate Barack Obama, the Democrat, won Fresno County by more than 5,000 votes over his Republican rival, John McCain.

The other big gainers are those who "decline to state" a political party. Since October 2004, that group of voters has grown by 6,158 voters, and is now the third-largest "party" in Fresno County.

Democrats once again dominate the city of Fresno, after briefly losing it years ago, and lead Republicans in five of the seven City Council districts.

One myth some are perpetuating is that the closing Fresno County gap means that the 19th Congressional District -- where Mariposa Republican George Radanovich is stepping down -- is now in play for Democrats.

The numbers don't show it.

For one, Fresno County has just 129,942 of the congressional district's approximately 350,000 registered voters. In addition, in the Fresno County part of the 19th District, Republicans still hold an advantage of almost 5,000 voters.