Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, the second state of the United States, also referred to as the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" being one of the only four commonwealths of the United States.

State Politics
While being a major swing state, especially in recent years, Pennsylvania is known to be a more liberal Republican state. In the past two decades, the state has seen a varying shift in it's politics. Rural and minor suburbs/city counties which had D+ leads in 2004 and prior have recently been R+ and most competition now within the state is through the developed suburbs of the major cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Typically, in statewide elections, the GOP tends to perform well, while in federal elections, they remain battleground.

The Pennsylvania State Legislature is currently controlled by the Republican Party. The Republican Party last held the governorship during the Corbett term from 2011-2015, which saw unfavorability amongst Republicans themselves.

The Independent vote in Pennsylvania often consists mostly of Libertarian voters and voters who feel unrepresented by either major party, and wish to remain between the two. During federal and state elections, the independent vote therefore tends to vote more for the libertarian or republican candidates.

A large percentage of democrat vote comes from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh alone. (Fun Fact: Removing Philadelphia alone would offset the vote in favor of the Republicans by at least 100,000)