Barack Obama Wins Pennsylvania

President Barack Obama has been declared the winner in Pennsylvania's general election, gaining the state's 20 electoral votes, according to CBS, NBC, ABC and the Associated Press.

In the 2008 presidential election, Pennsylvania voted for Obama, and since the 1990s, has voted for the overall winner of the presidential race three out of five times.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Obama campaigned aggressively in Pennsylvania. The state has typically been a Democratic stronghold in recent presidential elections. 

The economy was a key issue for many voters in the state, as was the environment – specifically fracking.

As she worked on one final get-out-the-vote effort Tuesday at Obama campaign headquarters in Dormont, Obama canvas director Chris Maggio cited the president's economic policies as a reason for her support. Romney offered no specifics in his plans for the nation's economy, she said.

Echoing that view was Maggie Zuraw of Canonsburg, who said she grew up in a Republican household but later became a Democrat because that party better represented her views.

 "I believe that lifting up the middle class will bring prosperity back to everyone," Zuraw said. "I think that President Obama is thoughtful, methodical and intuitive. 

"Romney himself said that it would take 10 years to bring the economy back. Obama has only had four years.”

Other voters said they leaned toward the president because of his efforts to ensure passage of the Affordable Care Act.

“I believe in Obama because I was on my mom’s health insurance," Maggio said. "I wouldn’t have coverage if it wasn’t for the new healthcare."

Christa Maier of Dormont, said she supported the president for his stands on women's rights.

"The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was an important initiative," she said. "I am pro-choice and I think Obama best represents my views.”

Romney spent part of Election Day making a brief campaign stop in Moon and Green Tree, and he 

On Monday, former President Bill Clinton was in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia suburbs and Romney surrogates, including former  swept through Eastern Pennsylvania, including a stop at Bethlehem's Westgate Mall.

Freelance writer Mike Buzzelli contributed.