Since George W. Bush came relatively close to winning the state in 2004 and because Barack Obama lost the Democratic primary to Hillary Rodham Clinton by nearly 10% in April 2008, many analysts believed that Republican John McCain had a decent shot at winning Pennsylvania in the general election.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the only candidates on the ballot for President of the United States.

In particular superdelegates were not swinging in her direction after her win; the Clintons had been trying to secure the support of Congressman Jason Altmire but he remained uncommitted after she won his district by 31% during the primary.

The superdelegates were free to vote for any candidate at the National Convention and were selected by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's officials.

[7] As the race continued to Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina, many observers had concluded that Clinton had little chance to overcome Obama's lead in pledged delegates.

"[10] This was a repetition of his tactic before March 4, warning supporters that his wife might not be able to continue if she did not win Ohio and Texas.

[12] On March 18, 2008 Barack Obama chose Philadelphia as the site to deliver his much-anticipated "A More Perfect Union" speech dealing with the race and the controversy surrounding his pastor, Rev.

Obama started a 6-day "Road to Change" bus tour across Pennsylvania, with stops in Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Altoona, State College, Harrisburg On March 28, Obama started the bus tour with a rally in Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.

[13] Obama was introduced and endorsed by Senator Bob Casey Jr., who had indicated earlier that he would remain neutral in the democratic primary.

[14] Casey traveled to Florida over the Easter holiday, where he said rain forced him to stay inside and think about the election.

[15] On March 29, the Obama bus tour stopped at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center in Altoona, where he famously bowled a 37.

[17] On April Fool's Day, Senator Clinton jokingly challenged Obama to a "bowl-off," with the winner taking all the delegates.

[18] On April 11, 2008, Huffington Post blogger Mayhill Fowler, a self-admitted Barack Obama supporter, reported that during an April 6 "closed press" fundraising event in San Francisco, California, Obama recounted the obstacles facing his campaign in the Pennsylvania primary as it pertained to rural, white voters.

"[22] Obama had addressed similar themes of guns, religion, and economics in 2004 during an interview with Charlie Rose.

[23] On the last Friday before the primary, Senator Obama spoke on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a crowd of more than 35,000, the largest audience yet drawn by either candidate during the campaign.

[27] At the Wilson high gymnasium in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, Clinton told several hundred more supporters: "The job of a leader is to bring people together to solve problems . . .

[29] Public opinion polling from early January 2007 through mid-February 2008 consistently gave Hillary Clinton a double digit lead over Barack Obama.

[30] By the beginning of April, polls of Pennsylvanians showed Obama trailing Clinton by an average of 5 points.

Although some strategists disputed this theory, pointing to low turnout among McCain supporters and arguing that primary results would not necessarily influence the November election.

Obama's lead was temporarily reduced to within margins of error and ties when Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was announced as McCain's running mate in late August, but when the financial crisis of 2008 became a more potent election issue near the end of September, Obama then took a double-digit lead in the state polls, causing many analysts to no longer consider Pennsylvania a swing state in 2008.

[51] Nevertheless, John McCain campaigned heavily in the state near Election Day and some polls showed Obama's lead narrowing down to single digits.

In addition, Obama remained competitive in the two most Republican counties in the eastern region: Lancaster (which gave George W. Bush his largest margin of victory in the entire state) and York.

Central Pennsylvania is a Republican stronghold; John McCain won the vast majority of its counties, often by substantial margins.

Historically, when a Democrat carried Pennsylvania, the entire lower-left corner of the state from Pittsburgh to Johnstown was coated blue.

This largely mirrored Obama's struggles throughout Appalachia throughout the Democratic primary, when voters in this region strongly backed Hillary Clinton.