Since President Obama's election in 2008, the number of registered Democrats across Pennsylvania has dropped almost 4 percent.

But Republicans have little room to brag. Their numbers are down nearly as much.

With the voter-registration period set to close Monday, not-quite-complete tallies show the Democrats are losing about 176,000 voters and the Republicans are down about 120,000 since the 2008 election.

The GOP's relatively slower slide has helped it reduce a registration deficit that now stands at 1.18 million, down from 1.24 million.

This should slightly help Republican candidates for governor, U.S. senator, and other offices Nov. 2. But drops in voter enrollment hardly bespeak broad public interest in the election. As of last Monday, overall registration, which includes independents and third-party voters, was down 302,000, with no signs of any last-minute surge.