Voters who want a competitive Democratic primary in Pennsylvania April 22 probably can thank our neighbors to the west in Ohio, which appears to have given Hillary Clinton an important win.

"It looks like a good chance right now that the Pennsylvania primary is going to matter seven weeks from now,'' said Robert Speel, an associate professor of political science at Penn State Behrend.

If Barack Obama wins Texas, there could be some pressure on Clinton to withdraw from the race, Speel said. But Speel said he thinks Clinton will try Pennsylvania, which he sees as similar to the Ohio electorate.

Speel said he thinks Obama would win in southeastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and Clinton would win in southwestern Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh).

Two of the biggest swing cities could be Harrisburg and Erie, he said.

"We're going to have six weeks of saturation coverage,'' he said.

Expect visits from candidates and their surrogates, along with what Speel said could be a barrage of negative advertising due to the relatively inexpensive Erie media market.

-- John Guerriero