Pennsylvania

For the first time since 1988, Penns ylvania has been considered a "Swing State". The state has been known for voting Democratic in its urban areas such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and for voting Republican in suburban areas around the major cities. Obama has been leading in Penns ylvania for quite a few months and his VP pick of Joe Biden ( a native of Penns ylvania), has secured his electoral votes in the state. This support towards Obama, has seemed to be due to the states overall "distaste" of McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin. The state that once supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries has felt that Palin is a poor representation of a female in the government [The Washington Post]. [It has been very puzzling to the public] the effort that John McCain has been putting into the Pennsylvania even with Obama's lead.

As you can see in this table, the last few elections, the Democratic candidate has won by large margins: ||  || 2,756,904 ||  || ||  John Kerry (D) || 50.92% || 2,885,773 ||  128,869 ||  ||     2,281,127 ||   || ||  Al Gore (D)  || 50.6% || 2,485,967 ||  204,840 || ||  49.17% || <span style="color: rgb(13, 43, 242)">2,215,819 || <span style="color: rgb(10, 15, 235)"> <span style="color: rgb(15, 35, 240)">413,650 || || <span style="color: rgb(6, 14, 244)"> 45.15% || 2,239,164 || <span style="color: rgb(6, 14, 244)"> 447,321 || || George H.W Bush (R) || || 1,791,841 || || || <span style="color: rgb(239, 6, 6)"> 50.7% || <span style="color: rgb(239, 6, 6)"> 2,300,087 || <span style="color: rgb(215, 29, 29)">105,143 ||
 * ** Year ** || ** Candidates ** || ** Percentage ** || ** Popular Vote ** || ** Margin of Victory ** ||
 * 2004 || || || || ||
 * || <span style="color: rgb(255, 3, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(30, 21, 21); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">George W. Bush (R)
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 3, 0)">
 * 2000 || || || || ||
 * || George W. Bush (R) || <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(237, 42, 33)">
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">
 * 1996 || || || || ||
 * || <span style="color: rgb(10, 15, 235)"> Bill Clinton (D)
 * || Bob Dole (R) || || 1,801,169 || ||
 * 1992 || || || || ||
 * || <span style="color: rgb(6, 14, 244)"> Bill Clinton (D)
 * <span style="color: rgb(6, 14, 244)">
 * 1988 || || || || ||
 * || <span style="color: rgb(239, 6, 6)"> George H.W. Bush (R)
 * || Micheal Dukakis (D) ||  |||| 2,194,944 ||

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, as of October 7th 2008 there were: 3,217,464- registered Republicans 431,161- voters with no affiliation 563,861- other voters
 * 4,387,027- registered Democrats**

In the US, statistic shows that around the same number of registered voters, vote on election day. If this statistic is correct, and people vote party lines in Pennsylvania, Obama has a clear win just due to the fact that there are more registered Democrats.

Obama has 78 campaign offices located throughout Pennsylvania, including over 5 in Philadelphia as of October 26th. McCain has one main Regional office for both Pennsylvania and Ohio, located in Columbus, OH. along with a local office in Harrisburg as of October 26th.
 * Campaign Offices in PA:**

According to Times Online, there are reported 80 Democratic offices and 50 Republican offices in the state of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania does not provide Early Voting, but does provide voting by mail (absentee ballot) for those who can meet all of the requirements. A ballot can be found [|here]
 * Early Voting:**

The primaries were held April 2008 in PA. The democratic primaries resulted in 55% Clinton and 45% Obama. Obama has had to win over Hillary supporters from Pennsylvania, which has proven to be a difficult task for him. In the past Hillary supporters have declared that they were going to vote for McCain or not vote at all. These radicals are the ones Obama has had to prove himself to and convince them to vote party lines.
 * Primaries:**

Below is a map [Pollster] of Pennsylvania and the way in which the country voted in the 2008 Primaries:

October 3rd- Obama in Abington October 11th- Obama in Philadelphia October 12th- Biden in Scranton October 14th- McCain in Bethlehem October 16th- McCain in Dowington October 21st- McCain in Bensalem, October 23rd- Palin in Beaver October 27th- Obama in Pittsburgh & Chester
 * Candidates at PA:**

McCain will be visiting parts of Penns ylvania throughout the next two days (October 14, 16, 21). He seems to be spending his time in PA, over the speculation that Obama will win Ohio (which has 20 electoral votes) and New Hampshire (4 electoral votes). McCain feels if he can win Penns ylvania it will balance out the electoral votes, and he could win the Presidency.

October 13th 2008- Obama: 50.7%, McCain-42.5% October 26th 2008- Obama- 52.7%, McCain-40%
 * Poll Updates (according to Pollster):**

Pennsylvania voted all their 21 electoral votes to Obama. The state once again voted Democratic and ended up with 55% Obama and 44% McCain. .
 * Final Results of State:**