Romney to campaign in Pennsylvania Sunday

Mitt Romney will campaign in Pennsylvania on Sunday, the first time he’s campaigned in the state in many weeks, a Romney campaign official told The Hill.

Romney’s campaign has been increasingly bullish about its prospects in the state, launching its first ad there earlier this week. A number of GOP outside groups have also bought millions of dollars in airtime for the final push there. Obama’s campaign has scoffed at Romney’s push in Pennsylvania and other states they previously haven’t contested, although they are investing in ads to combat the GOP outside group’s efforts.

{mosads}It’s unclear whether Romney is serious about winning the state or is more focused on building a narrative that the electoral map is expanding. But a campaign stop, a major time investment for him with just days before the election, is a bolder statement than an ad buy.

President Obama still has the clear edge there: he has led Romney in recent public polls by between 4 and 6 points, and no Republican presidential candidate has carried the state since 1988. But Obama’s edge in the polls there has narrowed in recent weeks, voters in the state’s western portion have shifted strong to the GOP in recent years, and Hurricane Sandy has disrupted power in greater Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold, though not as badly as it was initially projected to.

The Romney campaign would not disclose where in the Keystone State the candidate would be appearing, though The Daily, which first reported the visit, said it would likely be in southeastern Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.

This post was updated at 6:15 p.m.