Casey: Pa. remains 'purple'

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. plants an Obama sign in a constituent's front yard Saturday after she asked the senator to do so: Politicker Photo

A game-changing voter-registration shift toward Democrats in Pennsylvania, they now hold a 1.2 million advantage, has sparked speculation the commonwealth is no longer a "swing state."

Is Pennsylvania, like its neighbors New Jersey and New York, officially blue?

"I hope we are," U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Scranton) told PolitickerPA.com. "Talk to me November 5."

Pennsylvania remains a "purple" state, he said.

The junior senator spoke to PolitickerPA.com on his campaign bus between a series of Obama rallies in northeastern Pennsylvania. Casey spent the weekend practicing retail retail politics in the region, holding backyard rallies at supporter homes and canvassing neighborhoods like a part-time volunteer.

Polls indicate Barack Obama doesn't need his support -- most show the Democratic presidential nominee with a double-digit lead.

But Casey cites past elections presidential elections in the Keystone State as evidence the campaign will be closer than polls indicate. No candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson has won Pennsylvania by more than 51 percent of the vote, he said.

"Getting to 51 percent in a two-person race is tough," Casey said.

Casey credits Obama's surge in the polls to his three debate performances, when he said the senator from Illinois was clearly more steady than his Republican rival John McCain.

"The debates helped enormously," Casey said. "That kind of distinction between styles sends a message."

The senator also criticized McCain's temporary campaign suspension to deal with a proposed Wall St. bailout bill in late September, calling the Republican presidential nominee "erratic."

"I know Republican senators who said they didn't think he was constructive," Casey said.