Posted on 10/20/2012 5:27:34 PM PDT by kristinn
For months, Pennsylvania was considered a cakewalk for Democrats, with Sen. Bob Casey easily cruising to reelection and its 20 electoral votes in the bag for President Barack Obama.
But enter Republican Tom Smith and his personal fortune, and suddenly the Keystone State has the potential of upending the national political landscape. Buoyed by a tightening presidential race here, Smith — a no-name GOP Senate candidate and self-funding multi-millionaire — has suddenly made Republicans bullish about picking off the Keystone State to make Mitch McConnell majority leader and Mitt Romney more competitive here.
“He wasn’t on any endangered list,” Rep. Bob Brady, the Democratic congressman from the Philadelphia area, said of Casey. “But he is now.”
What’s happening in Pennsylvania reflects a national trend: Romney has risen in the polls following his first debate performance, giving him new opportunities in states seen as prime Democratic terrain. And a rapidly shifting Senate landscape has prompted GOP leaders to reassess Democratic-leaning states like Connecticut and Pennsylvania, putting the Northeast suddenly at the heart of the GOP’s dwindling hopes of winning a Senate majority
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Polls have shown there’s a reason for Republicans to believe they have some hope here. Two public polls in the past 10 days have suggested that Smith’s ad campaign — where he’s dubbed Casey as an “invisible senator” — has erased the Democrat’s double digit lead, dropping his lead down to single digits, with an Allentown Morning Call poll even putting the Democrat’s advantage at 2 points. According to a Quinnipiac poll, Romney has sliced Obama’s 12-point lead down to 4, while a GOP poll released Friday even put Romney ahead by 4 points here, and Smith up by 2.
SNIP
From Huffington Post tonight:
Mitt Romney's Campaign, RNC Have 60+ Staffers In Pennsyvania, Planning More
(Excerpt) Read more at dyn.politico.com ...
If Romney takes PA, it’ll be a short election night. A “Party time by 10pm” kind of night.
In 2010 we elected a Republican Governor.... In many of the local election where Democrats were always the winner’s the tide turned and very few Democrats were elected or re-elected. So yes I am hopeful for R&R and Tom Smith...When I start to feel good about what is happening I think back a few years to those who had to teach Santorum a lesson... Resulting in the dumber than dirt Casey.....
I remember when my cousin drove to school with guns in the truck's gun rack...
Yeah...that's what she said....
Heheheheheheheeeeee
Your thoughts n’l@ about the “win ability” of PA?
Your thoughts n’l@ about the “win ability” of PA?
Hi PaMom!!
I was just posting on two other threads about this! I’m guardedly hopeful. I’m tired of being burned, but I honestly believe Romney will win Pa. Dare I be so hopeful?? I think Smith is going to win it as well. I hope so. I’m tired of the entire state getting blamed for the voting transgressions of Pittsburgh and Philly!
VERY winnable but not getting my hopes up too high. Ryan in PGH this AM, John Bolton Tuesday evening! RWI went this morning. I might be able to go Tuesday depending on grandkid duty, LOL!
Agree, Pennsylvania is blue but Romney doesn’t need.
He wins Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio and he’s the President. If that happens, they’ll call Romney the winner at 9:30 ET.
Penn is difficult for the GOP in the best of times. I know Mitt can hit Ohio along with Penn so perhaps that plays into the thinking. Mitt’s internal polls (the real polls) must be excellent, or this is a fake out....I guess we won’t know for sure until election night.
I too worry about getting stung again...but last go round we got Toomey, Corbett, along with an R Pa House & Senate. I don’t think there are enough cemeteries in Philadelphia County to out do the West and “Alabama.”
It was a long night for Pat Toomey, but rural north-central PA pulling it out was the game-changer.
Most Americans are clueless about what's going on in that very red part of PA. Massive, earthshaking, economic deliverance from energy.
Pennsylvania did shift the GOP way in 2010 when we elected a Romney-type moderate Tom Corbett governor without my vote.
He got 54 percent.
We also elected Pat Toomey with 51 percent of the vote including mine.
I think it would be a good bet for Romney to invest here along with Michigan and Wisconsin.
It may end up being tougher to win Ohio than PA because the GOP there lost a referendum to control big labor unions.
I’ve been getting mailings and robocalls saying Romney will save Medicare and Social Security.
They don’t inspire me but maybe others will be.
Agreed. Every election we go through the same crap with PA. It’s a blue state because of the inner cities. Period. I remember people getting hyped when McCain was polling within 4 or 5 points a month out. He lost it..Romney will lose PA as well.
Lemme tell you this much...if I am wrong and Romney does win PA? You might as well open every bottle of booze in your house because it will be an early night and proof we are headed for a landslide for Romney. Win PA, VA, NC, and FLA...then who the hell cares about Ohio.
If we can turn Southwest PA from blue to red, then the PA math works.
The democrats have massive machines in Scranton, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. They can manufacture as many votes as they need to take the dem over the top. With the court injuction on voter ID, they are home free to continue to manufacture their votes. It would be nice for PA to go GOP, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Even with those low democrat participation numbers, there will still be 110% turnout (all for Odumbo) in Philadelphia.
Same here. And I tend to only frequent echo chambers and hear the things I like to hear.
All I can say is that PA momentum for Romney is spilling over into upper Baltimore County MD.
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