The Deschutes County Commission has gone from red to purple to blue.

Republicans maintained control of the commission for about two decades. It hasn’t been complete control. It’s been close. People who were Democrats or not so very conservative have served on the commission.

More liberal candidates were assured a voting majority after this year’s primary elections in May. After the November results, it will feel very much like an absolute Democratic lock.

One cause of the evolution is easy to pick out. Go back to 2000. Registered Republicans outnumbered registered Democrats roughly 28,000 to 22,000 in Deschutes County. As of Nov. 3 this year , Democrats outnumbered Republicans, with roughly 50,500 registered Democrats to 45,600 registered Republicans.

That is only part of the story, of course. Non-affiliated voters have become the dominant force in the county and state. There were about 14,500 nonaffiliated voters in 2000 in the county. As of Nov.…