A new state lawmaker from northwestern Pennsylvania will be a guest at President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, of Oil City, R-21st Dist., will be the guest of Congressman Mike Kelly tonight.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson. Contributed photo.

Each member of Congress can invite one person to sit in the gallery in the House chamber during the president’s annual address. Kelly, of Butler, R-3rd Dist., extended the invitation to the freshman state lawmaker.

Hutchinson said in a statement that he was “pleased and honored” to get the chance to attend the address as Kelly’s guest.

“Over the years, the State of the Union Address provided a forum for the unveiling of presidential initiatives and served as the starting gate for public debate on those issues,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

“I sincerely want to thank Congressman Kelly for providing me with this unique opportunity to be a spectator this year,” he said.

– John Guerriero

As they have in the past, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., will sit together during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Democrats and Republicans have traditionally sat on different sides of the House chamber during the SOTU until 2011.

“Our nation confronts a host of challenges that will require serious bipartisan solutions,” Casey said in a statement.

“Sen. Toomey and I work together regularly on behalf of Pennsylvanians. I look forward to once again sitting with him at the State of the Union and hope this small gesture will help foster a spirit of bipartanship in Congress,” he said.

Toomey said he will be “proud to sit with my fellow colleague from Pennsylvania. … We plan to work together – as we have in the past – to help our fellow Pennsylvanians. Bipartisan seating at the president’s speech is symbolic and sets a civil and cooperative tone for the challenging work ahead of us.”

– John Guerriero

With the “fiscal cliff” deadline looming, local activists and community members continue to press U.S. Mike Kelly, of Butler, R-3rd Dist., to keep tax cuts for the middle class and let them expire for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.

Congressman Mike Kelly

They will hold what they’re calling a “holiday vigil” today at 5:30 p.m. outside of Kelly’s district offices.

Those offices are at the Intermodal Transportation Center on Erie’s east bayfront; 908 Diamond Park in Meadville; 182 Main St. in Greenville; and 108 E. Diamond St., first floor, Butler.

Since Dec. 1, this will be the fourth event at Kelly’s Erie office.

President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress have been unable to strike a deal on averting the fiscal cliff.

They have until Dec. 31 to reach an agreement that would prevent all taxpayers from seeing a raise in taxes and to stop huge spending cuts.

Republicans haven’t budged on raising tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, while Democrats are pushing back against a proposal to raise the eligibility rate for Medicare, according to the Associated Press.

– John Guerriero

While Congress and President Barack Obama continue to tackle the “fiscal cliff” concerns, a coalition of concerned citizens plans action today at noon in Erie.

Congressman Mike Kelly

Community leaders, seniors, students, working families and people with disabilities are expected to call on U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, of Butler, R-3rd Dist., and U.S. Sen Bob Casey, D-Pa., to support a deal in which the wealthy would pay a fair share in taxes and tax cuts would be extended for the middle class.

They also want to protect programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

The rally will be outside Kelly’s office at the Intermodal Transportation Center on Erie’s east bayfront.

A news release states that “Kelly Claus” and his eves will give out lumps of coal to represent potentially drastic cuts.

– John Guerriero

In the presidential race, Erie County stood out in Tuesday’s election.

Robert Speel, associate political-science professor at Penn State Behrend, said that President Barack Obama won 58 percent of the vote in Erie County, which is the highest percentage win for him in the western half of Pennsylvania. 

President Barack Obama/AP file photo

Obama only won two counties in this part of the state, with the other being the 57 percent he won in Allegheny County.

It didn’t much matter because the president did so well in southeastern Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia County, for instance, Obama won 557,024 votes, or 85.2 percent, compared to Mitt Romney’s 91,840 votes, or 14.1 percent.

Looking for a county that was evenly divided?

Try Centre County, the home of Penn State, where the vote was split at 49 percent for both presidential candidates. Romney won that county by only 20 votes.

Don’t ever say your vote doesn’t count.

– John Guerriero

It’s pre-election rally time in the Erie area.

Today at 2 p.m., Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Bill Cole and former Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper of Erie will urge volunteers to attend get-out-the-vote neighborhood canvasses this weekend and discuss the importance of voting Tuesday.

Democrats also will hold a GOTV rally for President Barack Obama and other Democrats on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Perry Square gazebo.

The Minority Political Caucus will hold a line dance party as part of a GOTV effort for Obama on Saturday, from 8 p.m. to midnight, at the Martin Luther King Center, 312 Chestnut St., in the gym. You’ll be asked for a $10 donation for that event, with refreshments provided.

Not to be outdone, the  Erie County Republican Party will hold a rally tonight at Waldameer Park’s Rainbow Gardens.

That “rally before the tally” for Gov. Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates on the ticket will be from 5 to 8 p.m.

The event will feature Congressmen Mike Kelly and Glenn Thompson, among other Republican candidates. That event, too, asks for a $10 donation, with food and beverages provided.

So are you ready for Tuesday?

– John Guerriero

Maybe Pennsylvania is in play, after all, in the presidential race.

A Franklin & Marshall College poll released today shows that Barack Obama now leads Mitt Romney by just 4 percentage points, with 4 percent undecided, among likely voters.

President Barack Obama. File photo/ Associated Press.

That compares to a 9-point lead that Obama held in the September poll, with 3 percent undecided.

The poll shows that Obama is seen as better able to handle foreign policy issues, better able to understand concerns of ordinary citizens, better able to handle the job as military chief and closest to voters’ views on abortion and gay marriage.

But Romney is now seen as more prepared to fix the nation’s economic problems, the poll showed.

Here’s another telling statistic: Voters are less interested in this year’s election (67 percent, very interested), compared to 2008 (73 percent, very interested).

Pennsylvania was thought to be safely in Obama’s column, but is that still the case? There’s only six days left to find out.

Mitt Romney/AP File Photo

– John Guerriero

The final presidential debate watch parties in Erie are set.

For those in the Republican camp, you can watch at Erie County Republican party headquarters, 2206 W. 15th St., (behind Big Lots).

For those on the Democratic side, you can watch at the Barack Obama/Erie County Democratic Party headquarters, 1305 State St.

The debate between President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney starts at 9 p.m.

– John Guerriero

Remember some of the buzzwords from the 2008 election? They included hockey moms, hope, change, and Joe the Plumber.

Now CafePress, Inc., plans to have a little fun with buzzwords that will be used between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during their first debate on Wednesday night.

Every time one of the buzzwords is used, the CafePress website will offer instant discounts on political merchandise.

The buzzwords that CafePress will monitor are: jobs, economy, Obamacare, middle class, Wall Street, 1 percent, doubling down, success and freedom.

My bet is on middle class being the most overused word.

– John Guerriero

Republicans insist that Pennsylvania is in play between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama/AP file photo

But the evidence, so far, suggests otherwise.

Where are the ads?

Where are the candidates, especially in the Erie area?

Right now, they are in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Colorado, which are shaping up as some of the true battlegrounds this fall.

Obama is leading the race in Pennsylvania, though that can change with less than two months until the Nov. 6 election.

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer poll, compiled by a bipartisan team of political analysts, showed Obama with a 9 percentage point lead over Romney in the state, 51 percent to 42 percent, with 7 percent of voters undecided.

Mitt Romney/AP File Photo

Both sides point to their ground operations as proof that they’re vested in Pennsylvania.

But as for Pennsylvania being a battleground state, we’ll see.

– John Guerriero