Barack Obama won a comfortable ten point victory in Pennsylvania in 2008. How does his victory rank in Pennsylvania presidential election history? This article is a brief overview of how Pennsylvania has voted in presidential elections from 1928 to 2008.

Picking the winner

 There have been twenty-one presidential elections since 1928. Pennsylvania has voted for the candidate that won the presidency in sixteen of those elections. The five times they voted for the losing candidate were in 1932(Hoover), 1948(Dewey), 1968(Humphrey), 2000(Gore) and 2004(Kerry)

Winning percentages the democrats

 Barack Obama polled 54.48% in Pennsylvania in 2008. This is the highest percentage for a democrat in the state since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. His total was 64.92%. Franklin Roosevelt is the only other democrat to have a higher winning percentage in Pennsylvania than Obama. He won 56.88% in 1936. The democrats have carried Pennsylvania with 51% or less of the vote six times.

Winning percentages the republicans

 Three republicans have polled a higher winning percentage in Pennsylvania than Obama did in 2008. Richard Nixon won 59.11% in 1972. Dwight Eisenhower won 56.49% in 1956 Herbert Hoover polled 65.24% in 1928. The republicans have carried Pennsylvania with 51% or less of the vote four times.

Consecutive wins the democrats

 The democrats have carried Pennsylvania in five straight elections(1992-2008). They also carried the state in three straight elections from 1960 to 1968. Franklin Roosevelt won three times in a row from 1936-1944.

Consecutive wins the republicans

 The republicans started the period with back to back wins by Herbert Hoover in 1928 and 1932. They won three straight from 1948 to 1956. Their last winning streak ran from 1980 to 1988.

The winner in Pennsylvania by year

1928 Herbert Hoover(R)

1932 Herbert Hoover(R)

1936 Franklin Roosevelt(D)

1940 Franklin Roosevelt(D)

1944 Franklin Roosevelt(D)

1948 Thomas Dewey(R)

1952 Dwight Eisenhower(R)

1956 Dwight Eisenhower(R)

1960 John Kennedy(D)

1964 Lyndon Johnson(D)

1968 Hubert Humphrey(D)

1972 Richard Nixon(R)

1976 Jimmy Carter(D)

1980 Ronald Reagan(R)

1984 Ronald Reagan(R)

1988 George Bush(R)

1992 Bill Clinton(D)

1996 Bill Clinton(D)

2000 Al Gore(D)

2004 John Kerry(D)

2008 Barack Obama(D)

Summary

 Pennsylvania is a state that has trended towards the democrats recently in presidential elections. In 1992 and 1996, Bill Clinton carried Pennsylvania with less than 50% of the vote. In most election the state has been very competitive. 2012 will determine if the Obama victory is part of a major pattern change in Pennsylvania presidential voting.