"Why the gashead voters there have voted (narrowly) for the Demo presidential candidates in the last 4 elections is beyond me."
Philadelphia and Pittsburg gave such overwhelming margins to the DemocRATS, it overwhelmed the vote in the rest of the state.
Philly carries the state Demo in prez elections.. influence of Pittsburgh has been shifting Republican for years now... soon, only Allegheny County will be left voting blue in the Presidential elections.
As long as the republicans put up strong canidates in the presidential elections, PA will indeed go "red" in the next few cycles.