Regardless of how the voters got on the rolls, Johnson said the sheer number of Democrats is a concern this year -- as is the fact that more Hispanics are now registered Democrats. About 455,000 Hispanics are now in the Democratic Party, which only this year surpassed Republicans, who count 425,000 in their ranks.

Compared to the last presidential election, the numbers are even more dramatic for African-Americans. More than 207,000 have joined the Democratic Party since 2004, accounting for 44 percent of the new-voter growth.

Ever the optimist, Crist found something positive.

''The good news is people are registering to vote,'' Crist said, before acknowledging: ``Being a Republican, I wish more of them were Republican.''

¶ 4:38 PM