 Pennsylvania was considered a battleground state; since the 1970 election of Governor Milton Shapp, partisan control of the governorship had alternated between Democratic and Republican.Additionally, Republicans had controlled the State Senate since 1995, while Democrats assumed control of the State House following the 2006 election, only to lose control in the 2010 election, though the Democrats had won the state in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012.Despite many predictions of a close race, the election was not close.