“On the other hand, Republicans have seen a significant but smaller number of members leave the party, with 29,038 registered Republicans changing their affiliation—13,196 to "other" and 15,842 to Democrat—in 2023. This year, 48,702 Republicans switched parties, with 24,046 changing to "other" and 24,656 becoming Democrats, around a 67 percent increase in Republicans leaving the party.”
I don’t know if it applies for that state, but I’ve heard of people switching their party status so they can vote for a different candidate during the primaries for the opposite party, I wonder if that could be the case here