Scranton, Pennsylvania, was once home to generations of coal miners and rail workers, but the small regional US city has become a central battleground in one of the most consequential US elections in history | FarrahTomazin
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After four years of Donald Trump, some residents here say they’re desperately hoping their home town hero wins the White House in November. In the past fortnight alone, Trump, Biden and Vice-President Mike Pence have made at least eight campaign stops in Pennsylvania, aggressively trying to accuse their rival of failing workers while talking up their own ability to bring back local jobs in the wake of the pandemic-fuelled recession.
“I think he should win since our current President can’t keep his mouth shut and gets himself in trouble,” says Sweeney, as he gently assembles several boxes of model trains on the counter of his shop in downtown Scranton. Others raised concerns about Biden’s record, in which he supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership - deals that Trump often argues were disastrous for local workers, wages and factories.
About two-thirds of its population is white, many are working class or ageing, and about 14 per cent of its economy is manufacturing-based.This would generally make the area ripe for Republicans but even though much of Pennsylvania has grown more conservative, Scranton - at least for now - has bucked the trend.
Bob Durkin, who heads Scranton’s Chamber of Commerce, knows this only too well. There’s a pensive sadness in his voice as he talks about how Scranton was punching above its weight until COVID-19 shutdowns began in March.
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