Decision Day: Pennsylvania Heads to the Polls

It’s time to get out and vote, Philadelphia! Today is Pennsylvania’s primary voting day, and more than just the presidential nominees are at stake on today’s ballot. Delaware is heading to the voting booth today as well, making today an important one for candidates.

Donald Trump is the projected Republican winner in today’s Pennsylvania primary.

In addition to the Republican and Democratic races for presidential nomination, Pennsylvania also faces a “hotly-contested” (as per NBC) race for nominees for Democratic Senate and state attorney general candidacy.

Today marks the first contested Republican presidential race in Pennsylvania in decades, with Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich fighting it out for the nomination. Polls show Trump as the favorite to win, although in Pennsylvania it doesn’t matter much. As per NBC: “The Republican presidential primary is something of a beauty contest, since the 54 delegates up for grabs are not promised to the statewide winner in Pennsylvania. Rather, the delegate candidates who are elected — three in each of Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional districts — can vote for whomever they want at the convention.”

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to win the majority of the state’s 127 delegates, which are apportioned to each candidate based on voting by district.

It’s believed that Republican voters will turn out in record numbers for the contentious race today, but that voter numbers for Democrats today will be lower than in 2008 when Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. in both states today.

Candidates on both sides of the aisle have made several appearances in Pennsylvania in the past few days, specifically in Philadelphia. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had televised town hall meetings, while John Kasich and Donald Trump held rallies and made appearances.