Demographics Turned Pennsylvania Blue, and Democrats Keep Gaining
The rise of cities, and a less-white population outside cities, create two high hurdles for the Republican Party.
Pittsburgh now throws its weight behind Democrats.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Pennsylvania matters. The Trump and Clinton campaigns will spend millions in this state to nudge the needle a few percentage points one way or the other. But whatever they do, geography and demographics are pushing hard toward the left.
No Republican presidential candidate has carried the state since 1988, but there are three ways Donald Trump could hope to turn Pennsylvania red this year. He could make inroads in the core counties of metro Philadelphia and well-educated Allegheny County. He could make gains with a group other than working-class white men. Or he could elicit a historic surge in turnout for working-class whites.