Here they come. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The candidate invasion in southeastern Pennsyvlania kicks off today. OK, so it’s not here in Delaware County. Don’t worry, they’ll be here before long.

The Republican team of John McCain and Sarah Palin hit the Keystone State today with a rally this afternoon at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

The polls are saying McCain got the expected bounce from the convention and his controversial pick of the Alaska governor as his running mate. Most polls have the GOP ticket ahead or at least even with their Democratic counterparts, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

No word yet on when the Dems will be back. Biden was here last weekend.

All of which is to remind you of my theory that Pennsylvania will be key to the election, and that the suburban Philadelphia counties could tip the state one way or the other.

Lancaster seems like a good spot for McCain to arrive. Palin in particular should play well there and the middle of the state. It will be interesting to see how her strident anti-abortion stance plays with suburban moms in the Philly suburbs, including Delco.

We’ll closely monitor the campaigns and let you know when they plan to hit Delco. It was being bandied about last week that McCain could return to Delco, where he held a rally at Springfield Country Club last spring, as soon as this week. At this point that has not been confirmed.

For her part, Palin also is expected to go one-on-one with ABC’s Charlie Gibson for her first interview this week. We’ll see if she’s as good off the cuff as she is reading from the teleprompter.

Buckle your seat belts, this one is just getting started.