Pennsylvania, whose 20 electoral votes have long been among the most closely watched states in the race for the White House, is now rated as Leaning Democratic, according to the latest New York Times ranking of presidential battlegrounds.
The state had previously been ranked as a Tossup. But so far, neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney has invested considerable money on television advertising in the state and a new Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania found that Mr. Obama has an advantage of 11 percentage points.
The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, affirms what both campaigns have already discovered: Pennsylvania â€" for now, at least â€" is not among the top tier of battlegrounds.
The state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in the last five elections. Mr. Romney is still waging an aggressive fight, but the terr ain is likely more difficult than in the eight other remaining Tossup states in the Times' rankings: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.
