The magnificent hulk of a building at Broad and Fairmount in Philadelphia may be covered in graffiti now, but the Divine Lorraine was once an architectural gem.

Developers want to bring the Divine Lorraine back, but of course that requires money. So the city has agreed to put up almost $3.4 million toward the project, if the developer's application to the state for low-income housing tax credits is successful.

Paul Chrystie, a spokesman for the city's Office of Housing and Community Development, said Tuesday the money the city would put up is intended for this sort of project.

"They are federal funds — home funds and community development block grant funds that the city gets and they are for purposes like this," said Chrystie. "Taking an underutilized structure and enabling it to be repurposed and also having that create revitalization in the area immediately adjacent to it."

Chrystie said about half the building's floors would be turned into affordable housing. He said the developers expect to find out if they've received the low-income housing tax credits next summer.

"Somebody out there may have a use for the bridge even though it can't carry car traffic anymore," said Ted Poatsy, chairman of the Upper Salford board of supervisors.

"They may have specific uses on a farm … it's a good bridge. There's some great timbers to it and it probably has some value," said Postsy.

"It would cost us money to get rid of the bridge, so, instead of having us pay to have somebody take the bridge down, we are bidding it out so somebody will buy the bridge and the lumbers and take the bridge down for nothing."

Officials are selling the bridge through a website called municibid that allows the general public bid on government surplus.

Poatsy said offering the bridge for sale on the web gives the township access to a wide audience of potential bidders.

WHYY's Elizabeth Fiedler took a tour of the new and improved bridge with the man who oversaw the project.

The bridge offers a perfect view of Philadelphia

Workers put the finishing touches on the bridge

There's no question Philadelphia's many Democratic politicians would have preferred to see their party's candidates win.

"We could sit around as Democrats and cry about the fact that we pretty much got shellacked, as the president says…"

Or, Philadelphia City Councilman Darrell Clarke says, politicians can pick themselves up and start thinking about how to deal with the new political landscape.

"It could have problems…as it relates to our ability to get dollars for affordable housing activities…We are extremely dependent on a significant amount of state revenue to run our educational system, state revenue to run our department of human services, state money to some degree to support our court system."

Mayor Michael Nutter too seems well past drying his tears. Before the election, everyone knew the state's next governor – Republican or Democrat – wasn't going to be from Philadelphia…and it definitely wasn't going to be Ed Rendell, the former Philadelphia Mayor who treated the city well.

"Now is the time for relationship development and building toward a future and folks getting to know each other in a very different alignment and a very different environment," says Nutter. "Our obligation is to govern. Campaign's over."

District Attorney Seth Williams is trying to pick out possible positives from the situation, given that the state's governor-elect disagrees with the DA's position on a long list of issues including gun control legislation.

"Having a former attorney general serve as the governor should be helpful in some ways for those of us in law enforcement…The governor-elect in one of his first comments…stated that he hopes to make the state fiscally more responsible and that that starts with public safety," says Williams. "So I hope we can work with him to that end."

Williams says given the state's recent red wave, it could be more difficult for Philadelphia to get it's fair share of the state's tax dollars.

So who will the region turn to?

The director of the Institute for Public Affairs at Temple University, Joseph McLaughlin, has an idea.

"I think Senator Dominic Pileggi will be the most important figure in the legislature for the southeast region of Pennsylvania. Senator Pileggi is the majority leader of the Senate. The Senate did not change. It will still be overwhelmingly Republican. And I think he is someone who understands regional issues."

McLaughlin says if the city and regional delegations to Harrisburg can unite around some priorities, they have a chance to be successful.

"I think the business community here will be more important to the city in helping them get what they need from Harrisburg or avert things that they think are really bad."

McLaughlin says the region is still potentially a very strong force in Harrisburg; the city just needs to send a clear message to the rest of the state about its priorities, and build bridges with legislators of both parties, in the suburbs.

Independence Hall Tea Party PAC President Don Adams said Thursday that of all the regional victories in Tuesday's midterm election, the biggest win was Senator-elect Pat Toomey.

The group also endorsed the Republican winners in three suburban Philadelphia congressional races as well as Jon Runyan who won in New Jersey. While those candidates had the Tea Party organization's backing, they also had support from the GOP establishment.

"I think the important point is that we find principled conservatives who will carry the day," said Adams. "Obviously the Tea Party can't win on its own, it doesn't have the strength at this point. So we teamed up with Republicans when we found candidates that were deserving of our endorsement."

Only one congressional candidate endorsed by the PAC lost in Pennsylvania, but three out of four proved unsuccessful in New Jersey. The group also backed Christine O'Donnell's losing bid for the U.S. Senate in Delaware.

The day after the sweep, Franklin and Marshall College political science professor Terry Madonna said the election was about money and President Obama.

"Independent voters were concerned about the debts and deficits – not arguably caused by the spending both in the later Bush years and through the first year and a half of the Obama administration," said Madonna. "And some of it was definitely a reaction against the president and the Democrats who presided over this recession and the voters believe the recession is not over."

They're seeing that "the recession will go on and that their lives are not economically much better," he said.

Money also took center stage in another form, said Robin Kolodny, an associate professor of political science Temple University.

"Pennsylvania, as one of the swing states in the U.S., had a lot of spending from outside groups," said Kolodny. "And perhaps most Pennsylvanians aren't aware of just how many people outside of Pennsylvania spent a lot of money to influence the results here."

Outside groups poured $31 million into Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race as well as the 6th, 7th, and 8th Congressional District contests.

Fitzpatrick beat Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy, the same man who ousted Fitzpatrick from the seat in a tight election four years ago.

Fitzpatrick's spokesman Darren Smith says voters remembered the last time the two men went head-to-head.

"When he lost in 2006 it was a very narrow margin and people remembered his service in the past and they were inclined to go back to it," Smith says.

At Murphy's election night headquarters in Bristol, the defeated Democrat thanked his supporters.

"My Dad Jack Murphy used to say, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything,” Murphy said. “Well, we stood up to make our country better. For that we should hold our heads high."

This race wasn't nearly as close as in 2006.  Then Murphy won by about one thousand votes.  Fitzpatrick won by 27,000 votes yesterday.

Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, says Pennsylvania is in the bottom 10 states as far women members in the Legislature.

There are only "two women in the Congressional delegation and no women holding statewide elected executive positions in the state. There are five of those positions in Pennsylvania and currently none of them are women," says Walsh.

Walsh says women in Pennsylvania who are trying to get into politics face one big obstacle — in the state's strong party systems, the leadership has a lot of control over who runs, and who gets support.

"Usually the party leadership is male, the party leadership is looking to people that look like themselves when they're thinking about who should run for office and who they're grooming and who they're supporting," says Walsh. "And women really just aren't on their radar screen."

Walsh says there is hope for Pennsylvania if what has happened in New Jersey is any indication of the future. Training programs in the Garden State have helped boost the number of women in politics there.

Philadelphia City Councilwoman Marian Tasco wants the parties to do more.

"They should have a training ground to train women to run for political office. And not just look at us as envelope-stuffers…I would like to see more support and promotion by the parties to support women when they do decide to run," says Tasco. "They should be endorsed, they should be given the same financial support that is given to the male counterparts."

Tasco says women need to be more engaged in the parties at the local level where they can demonstrate they have the ability to run.

(AP Photo/David Goldman)

From the slumping economy to the Tea Party to lingering hopes for change, voters are preparing for tomorrow's election.

The the decision for many voters has come out of recent personal and national events..

Mike Erb's apparel says it all.  Standing in the crowd at a Republican rally in Reading, he's wearing a Corbett for Governor hat, a red white and blue Corbett sticker, and a shirt with the logo of the local Tea Party group.

"I think they're out of control with their spending…I noticed that my dollar, and we live on my pension and social security – that it doesn't go as far.  And if I have to cut back and as they say tighten the belt, why aren't our leaders doin that?"

Republican Dawn Medaglia says she's more energized this election than she has been in the past.

"I was kinda gettin complacent and kinda you know, after President Obama was elected, I just: 'Well we're down the tubes, we're just you know so disheartened.'  And now we've got revived again and we're hopin!"

Waiting in line at a blue rally in Norristown, Mike Zolochik says he's voting for the Democrats.

"I been laid off from work and I have a lotta time on my hands and I thought I'd do something worthwhile for the party. The thing that I'm lookin at, are more jobs in this state."

Realtor Kim Henderson came to the Democratic event even though she's a registered Republican.

"We're working people and we wanna see things come through for the working man, and we want people to be able to buy houses…I'm those people that they're talking about: the swing voter."

Henderson said there's one thing she knows for sure: she will vote.

The crowd waved red, white, and blue pom poms and signs, and
some people wore Tea Party hats and shirts.

U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey, who's locked in a tight race with Democrat Joe Sestak, asked the audience members to reach out to family, friends, and coworkers and get them to vote.

"I believe the 21st Century can be another great American century, we just need to remember the source of our prosperity.  It's not ever bigger government.  If we focus on limiting the size of the government, sweeping away the excess regulations, make the 2003 tax cuts permanent for crying out loud, and get spending under control, we can have a great recovery."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told the crowd the only way to make a better Pennsylvania and America is to elect better people.

"We know what to do.  The Democrats try to make this so complicated, but it isn't.  It isn't!  We've spent too much, we've borrowed too much, we've taxed too much.  And the only way to fix it is to spend less, borrow less, and tax less!"

The Democrats are countering with visits from Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama.