Scranton Joe Out, Democrat Doom Sets In
Democrats in Northeast Pennsylvania know they are doomed as San Francisco radical Kamala Harris can’t resonate with the union, blue-collar voters Scranton Joe was once able to appeal to.
A new report from Bloomberg Government shows how Congressman Cartwright is in a tough position without Scranton Joe by his side as he’s forced to face an uphill battle against Republican Rob Bresnahan, who has delivered union jobs for the region.
“San Francisco radical Kamala Harris simply cannot resonate with the working-class voters of Northeast Pennsylvania. Congressman Cartwright has bear-hugged Harris and the far-left of the Democrat party, and now he’s in deep trouble.” — NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella
Read more from Bloomberg Governmenthere or see excerpts below.
GOP Seizes on Biden Exit to Make Play for Working-Class Scranton
Bloomberg Government
Jonathan Tamari
October 9, 2024
Democrats breathed a sigh of relief when President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid this summer. But in a critical corner of Pennsylvania, Republicans saw opportunity.
Biden, born in Scranton, has deep personal and political roots in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a region that embodies the white, working-class realignment that has reshaped US politics, and that stands at the center of races for the White House, Senate and House. With the union-aligned president off the ballot, Republicans hope to press their advantage in the area, aiming to win back Pennsylvania for Donald Trump and sweep out two other Northeastern Pennsylvania Democratic institutions: Rep. Matt Cartwright and Sen. Bob Casey.
Trump plans to return to Scranton Wednesday for another rally in Cartwright’s mountainous 8th District, signaling the importance of a battleground that’s home to the President Joseph R. Biden Expressway, and which could have outsize influence on the presidential race, and control of both chambers of Congress.
“If there’s any race that Republicans benefited from Joe Biden not being on the ballot, it’s that one,” said Nick Trainer, a Republican strategist who has worked on campaigns in the region.
Republicans argue that Biden — “Scranton Joe” — was uniquely suited to the area’s labor roots and large Catholic population. Vice President Kamala Harris, they say, is not.
“I just don’t see how a San Francisco progressive liberal can resonate with the median household income of $60,000 a year,” here, said Republican Rob Bresnahan, the 34-year-old businessman challenging Cartwright.
Cartwright is one of five Democrats who hold districts Trump won in 2020, and Republicans hope other largely working-class areas in Ohio and Michigan could also tip their way after Biden’s exit.
[…]
Election Epicenter
The district’s working class was at the epicenter of the 2016 election shock.
The 8th includes part of Luzerne County, which narrowly backed Barack Obama’s re-election but swung dramatically toward Trump in 2016, unleashing a 32,000 vote shift in a state decided that year by just 45,000.
Officials and operatives in both parties say the region was one of many where blue-collar voters historically aligned with Democrats as the party of unions. Those ties frayed as Democrats became increasingly liberal on social issues and manufacturing jobs moved away, and snapped when Trump emerged as an unlikely avatar of working-class frustration.
“These are like Kennedy Democrats, moderate Democrats, many pro-life, pro-gun Democrats, and that’s not who the party is,” said former Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican who represented part of Luzerne in a neighboring district.
Lackawanna County, which includes Scranton, is the district’s Democratic base, but even there Cartwright’s vote share fell from 76% in 2014 to 59% in 2022.
[…]
“My Home”
Bresnahan paints Cartwright as another politician who has failed the region — much like the ones voters rejected when they turned toward Trump.
“Every year we see press conference after press conference,” Bresnahan said, “and nothing seems to turn into fruition.”
As an example, he points to the nearby Fort Jenkins and Water Street bridges, both closed.
[…]
Bresnahan and GOP ads also zero in on Cartwright’s support for Biden policies, tying him to inflation and migration at the Southern border.
“This is my home,” Bresnahan said. “I want to make it the best possible place it could be.”
The outcome could resonate far beyond.