The country just celebrated Independence Day, but it could be the “Year of Independence” for registered voters in Arizona.

We are in a new club, a small state group where the independents and those not registered with a recognized political party are the largest group of potential voters.

Combining the latest registration numbers in Maricopa and Pima counties with the last quarter’s registration numbers in the state’s 13 local counties, there are an estimated 1.45 million Arizonas who are not registered with a political party. That’s slightly more than the state’s 1.44 million registered Republicans. The difference is only a few thousand.

For more than 60 years throughout Arizona’s history, the Democratic Party has been the dominant party. Republicans came to power during the 1984 election cycle, but even then there was a growing independent cast. From May 2014 to May 2016, when the Republican Party regained the top spot, it succeeded in maintaining the state’s highest number of registrations.

This change is largely due to the proliferation of independents in the valley.

Since the last election, 40,000 Valley residents have registered as independents. During that time, Republicans gained 12,000 and Democrats added 2,500. That means the independents won more than double the number of the two major parties combined.

In June alone, more than half of new registrants were “nonpartisan,” the official term for independents in Arizona, according to the county registrar’s office. By comparison, 23% of new registrants were Republicans and 18% were Democrats.

The independent registration trend could become even more important in the next election, as U.S. Senator Kirsten Cinema is poised to start campaigning as an independent.

Official registration numbers won’t be released until July, but a spokeswoman for the Office of the Secretary of State confirmed that the independent is now a multiple voter in Arizona.