PENNSYLVANIA 20 Electoral Votes 
link to clickable map
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania Department of State)
Total Resident Population, July 1, 2019 est.
12,801,989
Total Registration, Nov. 2020
  9,090,962  >

Dem. 4,228,888 (46.52%)   Rep. 3,543,070 (38.97%)   others 1,319,004 (14.51%)

Pennsylvania has: 67 counties.

Largest counties: Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware.
Largest cities: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie. 

Government
Governor: Tom Wolf (D) re-elected 2018.
State Legislature: Pennsylvania General Assembly   House: 203 seats   Senate: 50 seats
Local: Counties, Municipalities...   NACO
U.S. House: 9R, 9D - 1. B.Fitzpatrick (R) | 2. B.Boyle (D) | 3. D.Evans (D) | 4. M.Dean (D) | 5. M.G.Scanlon (D) | 6. C.Houlahan (D) | 7. S.Wild (D) | 8. M.Cartwright (D) | 9. D.Meuser (R) | 10. S.Perry (R) | 11. L.Smucker (R) | 12. F.Keller (R) | 13. J.Joyce (R) | 14. G.Reschenthaler (R) | 15. GT Thompson (R) | 16. M.Kelly (R) | 17. C.Lamb (D) | 18. M.Doyle (D).   >
U.S. Senate: Bob Casey Jr. (D) re-elected in 2018, Pat Toomey (R) re-elected in 2016. 
2020
U.S. House:  All 18 members were re-elected.  The closest races were in PA-17 (Western PA, parts of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler Cos.) where Rep. Conor Lamb (D) defeated Sean Parnell (R) by 51.1% to 48.9% and PA-7 (Eastern PA, parts of Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton Cos; includes Allentown) where first-term Rep. Susan Wild (D) defeated Lisa Scheller (R) by 51.9% to 48.1%.
Also note:
In PA-12 (Central and Northern PA) Rep. Tom Marino (R) resigned effective Jan. 23, 2019.  Fred Keller (R) was elected in a May 21, 2019 special election.
State Legislature:
25 of 50 Senate seats and all 203 House seats were up.  The balance in the Senate stayed at 28R,21D,1o and the House went from
109R,93D,1v to 113R,90D.
Ballot Measures:
No statewide ballot measures.

 State of Pennsylvania
Department of State

PA Democratic Party
Republican State Comm. of PA
Libertarian Party of PA
Green Party of PA
Constitution Party of PA

Inquirer/Daily News, p
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p
Newspapers
TV, Radio

PoliticsPA.com
City & State PA

Politics1-PA
Ballotpedia-PA


The Keystone State
General Election -- Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 19, 2020.


While officials in states around the country were grappling with mail in voting, Pennsylvania was ahead of the curve; on Oct. 31, 2019, Gov. Wolf signed Act 77, "the most significant improvement to Pennsylvania’s elections in more than 80 years," which included no excuse mail in voting, a 50-day mail in voting period and 15 additional days to register to vote (+).  Further aiding voters, the Secretary of State provided funding to cover postage for mail-in and absentee ballots (+).


E. Day
Mail
Prov.
Biden
1,409,341
1,995,691
53,168
Trump
2,731,230
595,538
50,874
Jorgensen
53,318
24,783
1,277

Vote by Mail Litigation
Pennsylvania saw perhaps the most robust litigation on vote by mail of any state.  The most closely contested issue was
the "received-by deadline for mail-in ballots," in other words whether mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day, or if they can be postmarked by Election Day and counted a fixed number of days thereafter.  Other issues included the use of drop boxes and "naked ballots," where the voter neglected to use the secrecy envelope. 
  
The U.S. Department of Justice was on the alert for violations of law
(1, 2), and legal teams from both camps were poised and ready for post-election litigation (+).
Official Results >
 

+Biden/Harris (Dem.)
3,458,229
(50.01)
Trump/Pence (Rep.)
3,377,674
(48.84)
Jorgensen/Cohen (Lib.)
79,380
(1.15)
Total........6,915,283



Ballot Access: Requirement of 5,000 valid signatures from registered Pennsylvania voters between Feb. 19 and Aug. 3, 2020.  Litigation by the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania et al. to waive the requirement proved unsuccessful (+).  The Libertarian ticket qualified and the Green Party ticket appeared to have qualified, but a Sept. 17, 2020 ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck Hawkins/Walker off the ballot (+).
Overview: Trump eked out a narrow upset in Pennsylvania in 2016, but the Biden campaign pulled out all stops here in 2020 and the Keystone State fittingly provided the key to Biden's victory.  The AP's call of Pennsylvania for Biden on Nov. 7 put him over the 270 electoral vote threshold and made him president-elect.  Ultimately Biden prevailed with a plurality of 80,555 votes (1.17 percentage points), carrying 13 of 67 counties. 
    Biden's Scranton roots are well known—he spent his first ten years there until his family moved to Delaware in 1953.
  Jill Biden too has Pennsylvania ties, having grown up in Willow Grove, an edge city of Philadelphia.  Biden set up his campaign headquarters in Philadelphia and held his kickoff rally at Eakins Oval in Philadelphia in May 2019 (+).  From his home in neighboring Delaware, Biden could easily visit Pennsylvania, and he did so frequently during the general election campaign. 
   By the latter part of September, Pennsylvania assumed an increasingly important role in the Trump campaign's electoral calculations as well. 
For the final 15 days of the campaign, one of the Republican candidates or a family surrogate was in state doing events.
   In addition to frequent visits by principals and surrogates from both campaigns,
Pennsylvania saw second largest amount of spending on presidential advertising after Florida, a total of $268.4 million by the campaigns and their allies from May 1 to Nov. 3.  Adjusting in terms of spending per electoral vote, Pennsylvania led all states in presidential ad spending.
Trump  |  Biden
 
General Election Details

BALLOT [PDF]

POST-ELECTION


Primary Election -- Tuesday, April 28, 2020 June 2, 2020
Democrats
Biden 1,264,624 (79.26%), Sanders 287,834 (18.04%), Gabbard 43,050 (2.70%)  ...Total 1,595,508.

210 Delegates: 125 District, 41 At-Large, 20 PLEO and 24 Unpledged.



Republicans
Trump 1,053,616 (92.14%), Weld 69,427 (6.07%), De La Fuente 20,456 (1.79%)  ...Total 1,143,499.



General Election Winners in Pennsylvania, 1992-2016
1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
Clinton
45.15%
Clinton
49.17%
Gore
50.60%
Kerry
50.92%
Obama
54.65%
Obama
52.08%
Trump
48.58%
  and the details...

General Election -- Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Voting Eligible Population*: 9,701,644.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 63.6%.


Registration: Dem. 4,266,317 (50.14%)   Rep. 3,131,144 (36.80%)   Other Parties 1,110,554 (13.05%) ...Total 8,508,015

Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 11, 2016.




Official Results >


Clinton/Kaine (Dem.)
2,926,441
(47.85)
+Trump/Pence (Rep.)
2,970,733
(48.58)
Castle/Bradley (Const.)
21,572
(0.35)
Stein/Baraka (Grn.)
49,941
(0.82)
Johnson/Weld (Lib.)
146,715
(2.40)
Total........6,115,402


Overview: Democrats signaled Pennsylvania's importance by holding their Convention in Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania is the battleground state that in recent elections has inevitably seemed to end up in the Democratic column; the last Republican to win here was George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis in 1988.  However, the Trump campaign believed it could win, worked the Keystone State hard and achieved the upset victory.  Trump carried 56 of 67 counties, winning by a plurality of 44,292 votes (0.73 percentage points).  Democrats' hopes of picking up the U.S. Senate seat held by Pat Toomey also fell a bit short, and they lost a few seats in the General Assembly as well.  In Philadelphia County Clinton won by 475,277 votes -- 584,025 (82.53%) to 108,748 (15.37%).  Meanwhile, the Trump campaign made a strong effort in the collar counties surrounding Philadelphia, including a number of "Coffee with Ivanka" events and the only solo speech of the fall campaign by Melania Trump, in Berwyn on Nov. 3.
1. See: Brandon Finnigan.  "Why Trump Can Win Pennsylvania," National Review, July 25, 2016.

General Election Visits
Clinton  |  Trump
BALLOT, 2 [PDF]

General Election -- Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voting Eligible Population*: 9,674.379.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 59.4%.


Registration: Dem. 4,266,317 (50.14%)   Rep. 3,131,144 (36.80%)   Other Parties 1,110,554 (13.05%)  ...Total 8,508,015.

Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 9, 2012. +



Official Results >


Romney/Ryan (Rep.) 2,680,434 (46.68)
Obama/Biden (Dem.)
2,990,274 (52.08)
Stein/Honkala (Grn.)
21,341 (0.37)
Johnson/Gray (Lib.)
49,991
(0.87)
Total........5,742,040



2012 Overview
The Romney campaign made a play in Pennsylvania and improved significantly on the 2008 McCain tally, but the outcome was the same.  Obama-Biden carried the state by 309,840 votes (5.40 percentage points).  Romney carried 54 counties to 13 for Obama, but could not overcome Obama's strong showing in Philadelphia: 588,806 (85.29%) to 96,467 (13.97%), a plurality of 492,339 votes.
General Election Details
Obama  |  Romney
BALLOT [PDF]

General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting Eligible Population*: 9,363,381.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 64.2%.


Registration: Dem. 4,480,691 (51.16%)   Rep. 3,243,391 (37.03%)   No Affiliation 464,968 (5.31%)   All Other 568,981 (6.50%)  ...Total   8,758,031.

Last day to register before the General Election is Oct. 6, 2008.  >

                           Official Results >


+Obama/Biden (Dem.) 3,276,363
(54.65)
McCain/Palin (Rep.)
2,655,885
(44.30)
Nader/Gonzalez (Ind.)
42,977 (0.72)
Barr/Root (Lib.)
19,912 (0.33)
Total........5,995,137


2008 Overview
Pennsylvania became a must win state for McCain.  The Republican campaign made an intense effort in the state, but Obama-Biden achieved a comfortable margin of 620,478 votes (10.35 percentage points); McCain carried 49 counties to 18 for Obama.  In Philadelphia County Obama won 83.1% of the vote, gaining 595,980 votes to 117,221 for McCain (a plurality of 478,759 votes).
General Election Details
Obama/Allies  |  McCain/Allies  | 
Nader 

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Voting Eligible Population*: 9,221,962.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 62.6%.



Registration: Dem. 3,985,486 (47.64%)   Rep. 3,405,278 (40.70%)   Lib. 34,258 (0.41%)  Grn. 15,788 (0.19%)   Other Parties 925,853 (11.07%)   ....Total 8,366,663.

Last day to register: Oct. 4, 2004.

Official Results


+Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)
2,938,095
(50.92)
Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
2,793,847
(48.42)
Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.) 21,185 (0.37)
Cobb/LaMarche (Grn.) 6,319
(0.11)
Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.)
6,318
(0.11)
Ralph Nader (write-in)
2,656
(0.05)
Scattered (write-in)
1,170
(0.02)
Total........5,769,570
 




2004 Overview
854,451 more votes were cast in the presidential race in 2004 than in 2000.  The Kerry-Edwards ticket carried the state, but Bush trimmed the Democratic plurality to 144,248 votes (2.50 percentage points) and the Republican ticket also carried five more counties than it had in 2000, or 54 counties to 13 for Kerry. 
General Election Details  |  Photos
Kerry/Allies  |  Bush/Cheney '04

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Voting Eligible Population*: 9,086,897.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 54.1%.




Registration: Dem. 3,736,304 (48.01%)   Rep. 3,250,764 (41.77%)   Const. 7,918 (0.10%)    Lib. 30,248 (0.39%)   Other Parties 756,763  (9.72%)   ...Total 7,781,997

Last day to register: Oct. 10, 2000.
Official Results               


Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
2,281,127
(46.43)
+Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
2,485,967
(50.60)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
   14,428
(0.29)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
11,248
(0.23)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)
103,392
(2.10)
Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
   16,023
(0.33)
Write-ins
934
(0.02)
Total........4,913,119


Notes: In Pennsylvania the Republicans and Democrats are major parties, while the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party qualify as minor parties.  Others are referred to as "political bodies."  Minor party and other presidential candidates wishing to appear on the ballot in the general election needed to obtain signatures from 21,739 registered electors (2% of the highest showing by a candidate in the last statewide election) in the period from Jan. 26-Aug. 1, 2000. 
2000 Overview
Pennsylvania, with 23 electoral votes, was a battleground state from beginning to end, drawing much attention and resources from both campaigns.  Before the race even got underway, both parties considered holding their nominating conventions in Philadelphia.  On Election Night itself, when networks prematurely called Florida for Bush, Pennsylvania was for a time seen as a must-win for Bush.  As it was, Gore-Lieberman carried the state with a plurality of 204,840 votes (4.17 percentage points).  Bush carried 49 counties to 18 for Gore, but Gore won in the five most populous counties, including a plurality of 348,223 votes in Philadelphia County.
General Election Activity

1992 and 1996 General Elections
Archive Pages: 2016 | 2012 | 2008 | 2004 | 2000 1992
Clinton (Dem.).....2,239,164
(45.15)
Bush (Rep.).........1,791,841
(36.13)
Perot (PfP).............902,667
(18.20)
Others (2)................26,138
(0.52)
Total........4,959,810

1996
Clinton (Dem.).....2,215,819
(49.17)
Dole (Rep.)..........1,801,169
(39.97)
Perot (Ref.)............430,984
(9.56)
Others (3+w/ins).......58,146
(1.29)
Total........4,506,118