Pennsylvania, Blue Throughout
As predicted at the beginning of the race, President Barack Obama has won Pennsylvania.
Nate Silver of the New York Times Blog “FiveThirtyEight” posted that there was a 93 percent chance Obama would win the state. Mitt Romney lost the state by just under 300,000 votes, a 5.2 percent loss.
There were very few factors that made the difference in Pennsylvania, the state has voted Democratic for the past few elections so there was very little surprise that it stayed Democratic throughout the race.
Romney ads to run in western Pennsylvania
Until recently, only President Barack Obama’s campaign has paid to have ads run in Pennsylvania. His campaign as spent up to $4.55 million on them. CNN’s Politics section says that 41 percent of the ads have been positive while 59 percent have been negative.
The Romney campaign has announced though that it soon they will run its first ad in Western Pennsylvania. This ad states that Mitt Romney wants to keep coal as an energy plan while President Obama wants to bankrupt them. YDR.com reports that President Obama plans on launching two ads in Pennsylvania to counter Romney’s.
Little Change in Pennsylvania, Obama Still Strong
After the last and final debate, President Barack Obama is leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania. Nate Silver’s Five thirty eight blog now gives Obama a 92 percent chance of carrying the state.
From the New York Times’ Opinion Page, where people posted reactions to the last debate on a blog:
For the final debate, Mitt Romney appeared in a new role of practically a cheerleader for President Obama. He agreed on almost everything and applauded Mr. Obama for many foreign policy achievements. – Alexander Soifer.
Another writer, Marc Perkel, had this to say, “It looked to me as if this last presidential debate was the exact opposite of the first debate. This time it looked as if Mitt Romney was asleep.”
Pennsylvania Still an Obama State
Due to the rejection of the new voter ID law in Pennsylvania, not much has changed as it continues to be a mainly Obama state. A few percentages have dropped since the two debates, but the state still remains 89 percent Obama, according to Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight.
Pennsylvania Snapshot
Pennsylvania has not been considered a swing state for a few years. With 20 electoral votes, the state has voted Democratic the past two elections. In 2008, Pennsylvanians voted for Obama over McCain, and in 2004 they voted for John Kerry over George Bush.
The New York Times’ Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight blog reports that Obama has a 98 percent chance of winning Pennsylvania over Romney. The Times’ politics section also reports: “For years, Pennsylvania has trended Democratic in presidential races, but that has not stopped Republicans from trying to make it competitive. Mitt Romney has traveled across the state and Republican groups have advertised, but so far there has been little headway.”
The newspaper then goes on to discuss a new voter law that prohibits anyone to cast a ballot without a state-issued ID or an acceptable alternative such as a military ID. This may cause concern for Democrats because it could reduce Democratic participation.
BonaSwing 