© 2024 Allbritton Journalism Institute
"Scranton the Electric City" sign on the Scranton Electric Building.
Ted Shaffrey/AP

Kamala Harris Has a Scranton Problem

Biden brought back working-class voters from his hometown and beyond on his “Scranton Joe” biography. For Kamala Harris, it’s a more difficult sell.

Ted Shaffrey/AP

On the morning of Nov. 3, 2020, a day that would deliver him the presidency, Joe Biden began his Tuesday at a place no president had set foot before.

Outside the Carpenters and Joiners Local 445 — a union hall along the railroad tracks in Scranton, Pennsylvania — Biden spoke briefly to canvassers about the lessons he learned at his “grandpop’s table at 2446 N. Washington Ave.”

He talked at length about the value of unions. He told the group that money doesn’t equal wealth, that you look out for the other guy.