Pennsylvania in 2012 Elections

This article presents a snapshot of voters, issues and trends in battleground state Pennsylvania that will influence who and what wins and loses in the 2012 elections.

How Pennsylvania Votes: Red State or Blue State?

Even though Pennsylvanians have voted Democratic in the last five presidential elections, Pennsylvania is considered a swing state largely because the Keystone state voted Republican for most of the 20th century.

Also, the composition of Pennsylvania demographics... 81.9% white per the 2010 Census... predisposes its population to receptivity to conservative Republican messaging. No Democratic presidential candidate has garnered more than 45% of the white vote in three decades.

"Nationally, Obama won 43 percent of the white vote: 46 percent of white women and 41 percent of white men," reported The Times-Picayune newspaper reported after the 2008 election. Per USA Today about Pennsylvania's 2008 election results, "The candidates split the white vote, but Obama was the overwhelming choice among blacks and Hispanics, according to an analysis of information from voters interviewed as they left polling places."

In the last four presidential elections, Pennsylvania voted as follows: 2008 - 55% for Democrat Obama, 44% for Republican McCain 2004 - 51% for Democrat Kerry, 49% for Republican Bush 2000 - 51% for Democrat Gore, 46% for Republican Bush 1996 - 49% for Democrat Clinton, 40% for Republican Dole, 11% for OtherThrough 2012, Pennsylvania's governor, Tom Corbett, and lieutenant governor, Jim Cawley, are both Republicans. Of the state's tow U.S. senators, one, Bob Casey Jr., is Democratic, and one, Pat Toomey, is Republicans.

Of Pennsylvania's 19 U.S. House of Representative members, twelve are Republicans and seven are Democrats.

Summary of Top Issues in New Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's population is heavily weighted toward white voters (81.9% of state residents), labor union members (16.3% of all workers, 4th highest percentage in the nation), and senior citizens (15.4% of state residents, also the 4th highest percentage in the nation).

As a result, Social Security, Medicare and such working-class issues as minimum wages, healthcare insurance coverage, and middle-class income taxes are top political issues in Pennsylvania.

Liberalization of U.S. immigration laws is not a popular stance in Pennsylvania largely because Hispanics comprise only 5.7% of the state's population.

Pennsylvania Economic Facts and Voter Demographics

Unemployment Rate as of June 2011 - 7.6%, well below the national unemployment average, and ranking 31st among all states.

Foreclosure Rates as of June 2011 - 1 in 1509 homes, significantly lower than the state average of 1 of 583 home in foreclosure, and ranking 37th among states.

State Residents Living Below Poverty-Level Income - 12.1%, which is ranked 28th among states.

Labor Union Membership - In Pennsylvania, 899,000, which is 16.3% of all employed Keystone State workers, belong to an organized labor union, the nation's 4th highest quantity of labor union members.

Senior Citizen Population - 15.4% of Pennsylvania's total population, the 4th highest state percentage of seniors in the nation.

Women as a Percentage of Pennsylvania's Population - 51.3%, which is ranked 9th in the nation, tied with four other states.

African-American Population - 11% of Pennsylvania's resident population, ranking as 20th among all states.

Hispanic Population - 5.7% of Pennsylvania residents are of Hispanic origin, ranking 31st among all states.

View the original article here

Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania

Notability - When elected to Congress in 2006, then 33-year-old Patrick Murphy became the only Iraq War veteran member of the 110th Congress. Murphy was reelected with 57% of the vote in 2008, and was joined in Congress by three other Iraq War vets.

In his first term, Murphy was the only freshman assigned to the prestigious House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Patrick Murphy is part of the House Blue Dog Democrats, a influential, fiscally conservative, pro-business group.

Career Path –
1996 – 2000 – Worked as a legislative aide to Thomas Tangretti, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania legislature; at the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic, a legal aid society; and taught government at Mt. St. Mary’s College. 2000 – Murphy went active duty in the U.S. Army, and was first assigned to teach constitutional law at the West Point U.S. Military Academy. 2001 – After the 9/11 attacks, Murphy volunteered for overseas duty. He served first in Bosnia, then in Baghdad for seven months in 2003-04 as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. Murphy earned the Bronze Star for service and his unit earned the Presidential Unit Citation. Murphy left the military in 2004.

Birth – October 19, 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a Philadelphia police officer and a secretary.

Education – In 1991, Patrick Murphy attended Bucks Community College before transferring to King's College in Wilkes-Barre, where he was student body president, captain of the hockey team, and an ROTC cadet.

After earning a B.A., Murphy was commissioned as an officer with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Congressman Murphy then studied at Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, earning a J.D. in 1996.

View the original article here