Pennsylvania: Fool’s Gold for Republicans?

Families around Pennsylvania were glued to their TV’s Tuesday night with bated breath, watching the 2012 election results roll in. Early exit polls had Obama up 3 percent in the Keystone State, but polls taken at 8:20 p.m. had him up 5 percent. And as the evening rolled along it became clear that Pennsylvania was once again leaning Democrat. During the first hour after polls closed, most media outlets had Pennsylvania too close to call.

My own family gathered in our family room, where we were jumping between four different stations, anticipating the overall vote in Pennsylvania. When it became clear that Pennsylvania was once again leaning blue, the media started to focus on swing states such as Florida, Virginia, and Ohio.

The delay in calling Pennsylvania one way or another was no surprise. Voter turnout was very high, with lines out the door at most polling places. My father and I had to wait in a line for 30 minutes when he voted in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania – the same county that Mitt Romney visited in late September.

Finally at 9:15 p.m., Pennsylvania was called by Fox News for Barack Obama. With only 7 percent of the vote, they based the early call on exit polling and county-by-county analysis.  CNN followed with this announcement at 9:43 p.m. Immediate analysis by several media outlets called Pennsylvania “Fool's Gold” because year after year Republicans think they can win, and yet Pennsylvania continues to vote Democratic. Others compared it to Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, with Republicans thinking that maybe this time it will not be pulled away.

—Kid Reporter Katelyn Barr