So does Wiki on the last election like this, 2004 Bush/Kerry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_in_Pennsylvania,_2004

The entire state is virtual Bush Red.
For Blue, it says:
“The cities of Philadelphia, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Erie went Democratic, while the entire rest of the state voted Bush, by varying margins”.

Note the order of the cities.
Note their importance.
Note that with a handful of counties, Kerry pulled the whole state. (remember: Osama Bin Laden promised to make terror-free targets of states that voted Kerry over Bush; let’s factor in all the trivia).

New York and New Jersey folks are pouring into our eastern counties like it was Florida Retirement Central.
The cost of living and taxes make LeHigh and Northampton Counties (in particular) extremely attractive commutes to NYC.

Housing prices skyrocketed on the east side of the state.
This is not part of the credit mess, or bubble.
This was a decision to forego million dollar apartments in NYC that are the size of an Erie living room.

The $250,000 homes of Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (they call the area “ABE”) ramped to $500,000 fast and held. They can not build these “bargains” for NY and NJ folks fast enough.

The candidates follow the people likely to yield victory.

Erie is a declining market for the election process.
The trips here by Hillary and friends is an act of desperation from being the ONLY candidate a year ago, to being the defeated candidate if she loses PA.

She had the state by 20 points a moment ago; now depleted to 4 to 6 points. The country has state-by-state found a return to Clinton, a merry-go-round ride to pass on.
Pa has trimmed their fondness accordingly.