When Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards made history by securing a Democratic majority on Montgomery County's Board of Commissioners for the first time, it was an event of national significance, in the view of Michael Hagen, a political science professor at Temple. It spoke to a stunning turnabout in the county's political landscape. Pennsylvania again will be a battleground state in the 2012 presidential election, he said, and Philadelphia's neighboring counties could decide the outcome. "If you look at the trends in voter registration, it's hard to say it isn't moving in a Democratic direction," Hagen said.