More than a quarter of California voters aren't registered in a political party, making independents the fastest growing share of voters in the state.
Registration numbers released Thursday by the Secretary of State show that as of April, 4.73 million Californians are registered as 'no party preference,' up by 1 million voters since 2014.
Republicans are slightly ahead with 4.76 million registered voters, a slide of roughly 300,000 since 2014. That number is even down slightly from Republican totals in January, a poor sign for the party heading into the June 5 primary.
Forty-four percent of voters are Democrats, and the party grew by about 700,000 since 2014.
Republicans have been steadily losing ground in California and risk having no candidate on the November ballot for U.S. Senate or governor.
KATHLEEN RONAYNE, Associated Press