Good morning in Scranton, hometown of Joe Biden, in full electoral reconquest

Audio 04:49

Democratic Nov. 3 presidential candidate Joe Biden visiting his hometown of Scranton, Pa., July 9, 2020. AP Photo / Matt Slocum

By: Carlotta Morteo Follow

10 mins

In Pennsylvania, Scranton, the birthplace of Joe Biden, has a working-class past, marked by the development of coal mines and labor struggles long favorable to the Democrats.

If only times have changed.

In 2016, it was precisely this popular class that tipped the whole state into the hands of the Republicans.

It only took some 44,000 votes.

Today, it is by highlighting his family attachment to the city of Scranton and his humble social origins that Joe Biden is trying to win back these lost voters.

Publicity

From our special correspondent in Scranton,

Joe Biden, native of the country, inevitably, it brings closer.

We touch a sensitive chord, that of local pride.

Although, in reality, the family of the former vice president moved from here when he was 10 years old.

However, this link between Joe Biden and Scranton is part of a past, a collective history.

Adèle is 71 years old.

His parents, his grandparents were minors here, union members, Democrats to the tips of their nails.

His family's journey is similar to that of Joe Biden.

“ 

His great-grandparents had settled here around 1850 after the so-called 'potato' famine in Ireland.

Scranton was a prosperous town, thanks to the coal mines and the train, there was a lot of work, and many Irish miners.

So it was a destination for immigrants at the time.

This all echoes with my personal story.

 "

Adele rejects the idea that the Democratic candidate has " 

abandoned Scranton

 ": " 

No, his father moved his family to Delaware because of work, but Joe Biden still had a lot of family here that he visited regularly.

So I think he never forgot where he grew up, where he was a kid.

 "

Difficult to be optimistic

 "

The house where Joe Biden grew up is a pretty blue pointy-roofed two-story house with a small porch in front.

It is located in an area that was once more popular than it is today.

Now it's even more of a neat, quiet middle-class neighborhood.

A district visibly acquired by the Democrats.

And it has also lately become a place of political pilgrimage for Democratic voters, like Geoffrey who lives an hour from Scranton.

“ 

I think it's important to be here, especially at the moment,” he

says.

Especially since the part of Pennsylvania where I live is much more favorable to Trump, so it does me good to see all these pro-Biden signs in the gardens, it rebalances my perception.

It's hard to be optimistic given what happened in the last election.

We still don't really know which way the scales will tip, but I'm still hopeful.

 "

Another place of pilgrimage in the district, the Hanks Hoagies grocery store and sandwich shop, which since 1965 seems to have remained intact.

Photos, statuettes of baseball players and many caricatures of politicians: JFK, Clinton, Bush, Obama ... Right at the entrance, as if he was welcoming you, a life-size effigy of Joe Biden, cardboard, to which Tom Owens, the owner of the premises.

“ 

He is there, he is there every day!

[Laughs] No, but he's been coming to see us in real life too, for years, as a senator, as vice-president.

He came in the month of October.

He grew up a few blocks from here.

He would come with his little friends to have a drink, eat a sandwich, play cards ... He's a guy from Scranton, we know him personally and we really love him.

Joe is a humble guy, he is nice to everyone, he puts people at ease, we love him!

 "

Image of proximity and betrayal of the popular classes

This image of a sympathetic politician, close to the people, from a modest background, this is what Joe Biden seeks to put forward to seduce a popular electorate who has turned away from the Democratic Party in favor of Donald Trump.

Will it work?

Hard to say.

The election is likely to be very close in Pennsylvania.

In the more popular neighborhoods of the city, there are many more signs of support for Donald Trump.

The Democratic Party embodied by Joe Biden would have betrayed the popular class here.

It is now seen as the party of the elite and of ethnic minorities.

Even if Scranton, where big companies and universities sit today, will probably lean towards the Democratic camp again this year, who will the poorer counties around Scranton vote for?

From Luzerne to Lackawanna, this is where the election in Pennsylvania will be played out, where Donald Trump had seduced, and still seduces.

To listen: Good Morning from Cleveland, with Republicans hostile to Donald

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  • United States

  • Donald trump

  • Joe biden

  • USA Elections 2020

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