Rural PA (which is most of it) is mainly conservative. Every day I hear someone complain about Obama, at the store or the gas station or wherever. And yet, populism runs deep and people also express resentment against big business and the rich. Worst of all, although I live rather far from any city — even the nearest mall is pretty far off — it is clear that in our area, there’s a tidal wave of refugees from the urban areas, from Philly, NY and NJ, mostly African-Americans and not a few muslims. The former are mainly looking for peace and quiet, a way out of the crime-ridden cities; the muslims — “we come in peace,” supposedly. These groups are not conservative and won’t vote R.
The problem here in Pa. is that the liberal wing of the GOP controls the state leadership and effectively blocks conservative initiatives and candidates.