It's all about the name game in Pennsylvania.
In the past weeks, with the Nov. 7 election approaching, a number of big-name politicians - some of whom are running for office themselves - have dropped in on Philadelphia and other cities in the state to throw their weight behind local candidates.
One such visitor was Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who was at the Franklin Institute last Friday to speak at a private fundraiser for area congressional candidates Lois Murphy, Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy, running for Pennsylvania's sixth, seventh and eight districts, respectively.
Former President Bill Clinton was also recently in town to support Sestak's campaign.
Political Science professor Jack Nagel said that given the competitiveness of the races here, it makes sense that other politicians would support campaigns in the area.
"Due to both gerrymandering and natural concentrations of partisan voters, very few House districts nationwide are competitive," Nagel said. "Thus, which party controls the House will depend on a couple of dozen districts in which there is a real contrast - we have more than our share of them" in Pennsylvania.
He added that prominent visitors attract media attention to party candidates' causes, as well as drawing donors to fundraisers.
College senior Addie Coslett attended the Hllary Clinton fundraiser because her mother got tickets for making a contribution to the Sestak campaign.
"Clinton was the final speaker and just said a few words about why each of the candidates were great," Coslett said.
She added that she thought Clinton's speech was "very powerful [and] left everyone moved and ready to write more checks."
Penn has also been the recipient of such special attention in recent weeks.
Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) make a campus appearance earlier this week. Weldon, the incumbent, is battling Sestak for his House of Representatives seat in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also recently visited, and Meredith Uhl, College senior and vice president of the Penn Democrats, said that that a campus rally involving Gov. Ed Rendell is in the works for the beginning of November.
"I think that the primary reason so many politicians come to Philadelphia is the fact that it grants them access to a large population of voters in what has been a rather significant swing state in the past," Uhl said.
