In addition to these trends, PA was the only major rust-belt trump flip (of the MI, WI, PA upset trio) which hillary did actively campaign in. The fact that she still put a degree of effort to PA only to turn up a loss is telling.
Well, I don't think she "did her best" in PA. Her campaigning in PA did not include much active outreach to white working class voters. If she had put more focus on that group - especially in the Northeastern part of the state (the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area) - she would likely have won PA.
In any case, since future population projections suggest that Philadelphia and surrounding areas will grow faster than the western part of the state, I think PA will definitely be at least a worthwhile investment for Democrats in the foreseeable future.
