HARRISBURG -- With Republicans leaving the party in droves and re-registering as Democrats so they can vote in the April 22 presidential primary, state Republican Chairman Robert Gleason is urging them to come back to the GOP after the primary.

He said he understands that many Republicans have switched parties in recent weeks so they can vote for either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"We understand that it's a hotly contested primary and there's a lot of interest there,'' Mr. Gleason, along with a dozen GOP elected officials, including Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, said at a new conference today.

"But these people haven't changed their overall political philosophy of lower taxes and smaller government, so we urge them to return to the party after the primary."

He said that Harrisburg attorney John McNally will head up a statewide effort to talk to those Republicans who have switched parties in recent weeks and urge them to re-register as Republicans before the November general election. Spurring interest in the party will also benefit Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and help the GOP in its effort to re-take control of the state House in November, said Mr. Turzai. Democrats now control the chamber by just a single vote, 102-101.

Mr. Gleason, who is from Cambria County, told a humorous anecdote about a friend of his who had been a longtime Republican, but recently registered Democratic to vote in the primary.

"He had to go into the hospital to have a serious operation, and he told the doctor to please do everything correctly during the operation,'' Mr. Gleason said. "He told the doctor, 'Please don't let me die as a Democrat'.''

Statewide, there are now 3,187,152 registered Republicans, or 58,119 fewer than last November. Democrats now have 4,190,064 members, or a whopping 306,686 more than six months ago. Also, there are now 942,867 independents, or 41,473 fewer than last November.

Mr. Gleason said that former Republican Gov. Tom Ridge was elected in 1994 when Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 500,000 in registration, so that shows the GOP can win even when there are more Democrats. But it's still important to have as many members of the party as possible, he said, so the campaign to get former Republicans to re-join will begin in all 67 counties right after the primary.