It’s official: Trump won Pennsylvania by 44K votes

It’s official: Trump won Pennsylvania by 44K votes
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The Pennsylvania Department of State officially named President-elect Donald Trump the winner of the 2016 presidential election.

Gov. Tom Wolf certified the results, which found Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence in the leadwith 2,970,733 votes, the Department of State announced Monday.

The results come after a federal judge denied Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request to recount state paper ballots earlier that day, and a previous request toexamine voting machines, which, lacking a paper trail, were susceptible to hacking, Stein argued.

In a 31-page opinion, U.S.District Judge Paul Diamond in Philadelphia said it “borders on the irrational” to believe hacking occurred in the state. He also emphasized that the deadline to certify the state’s electoral votes is Tuesday, making it impossible to hold a recount in time.

Across the state’s 67 counties, votes for electors — not the candidates themselves —were as follows:

— Electors for Republican Party candidates Trump and Pence: 2,970,733
— Electors forDemocratic Party candidates Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine:2,926,441
— Electors for Libertarian Party candidates Gary E. Johnson and William Weld:146,715
— Electors for Green Party candidates Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka:49,941
— Electors for Constitution Party candidates Darrell L. Castle and Scott N. Bradley:21,572

Though Trump won the state by a 44,000-vote margin over Clinton, the Democratic challengercarried Pennsylvania’s three largest cities.

Allentown, Lehigh County,the state’s third most-populous city, swung left, giving Clinton 50.4 percent of the vote with a 7,000 vote margin.

Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, also went blue, giving Clinton/Kaine a 16.4 percent lead over Trump.

Philadelphia and its surrounding counties —Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks — voted blue, too. In Philly, Clinton took an overwhelming 82.2 percent win over Trump’s 15.5.