- Title: Democratic Pennsylvania county a microcosm for Trump win?
- Date: 17th November 2016
- Summary: PLYMOUTH, LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA (NOVEMBER 15, 2016) (REUTERS) HARDWARE STORE OWNER PAUL CONGDON WORKING IN HIS STORE, TALKING ABOUT HOW HE IS THE ONLY HARDWARE STORE LEFT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CLOSE OF CONGDON'S HANDS WORKING ON A FRAME (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL CONGDON, HARDWARE STORE OWNER, SAYING: "It is a democratic area and they voted for Trump for a reason. Reason is people want a change. They don't want politicians anymore. They are fed up of politicians and he's an outsider. He's running on a Republican ticket but he's basically an outsider and people just voted for him for that reason. They are sick and tired of being mistreated by the politicians." SHOT OF CLOCK WITH THE WORDS "PLYMOUTH BOROUGH 1866" PRINTED ON ITS FACE SHOT OF TRAFFIC ON THE STREET SHOT OF AUTO REPAIR 'OPEN' SIGN AUTO MECHANIC NOLDE ROBINS WORKING ON CAR ENGINE, TALKING ABOUT ELECTION CLOSE OF ROBINS' HAND WORKING ON ENGINE PART (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOLDE ROBINS, AUTO MECHANIC, SAYING: "I think he can do more for the economy than anybody's gonna. I think he can make things happen that the other politicians aren't going to, you know what I mean? And in a simple fashion. I see black and white and it never seems to happen that way." MORE OF ROBINS WORKING ON ENGINE (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOLDE ROBINS, AUTO MECHANIC, SAYING: "People don't have those $25 per hour jobs, you know what I mean? You don't get that for driving a forklift or loading a truck or filling out the paperwork to get something from A to B and that's what all our warehouse space - it's all distribution, you know what I mean? We are pulling in stuff from China because it's cheap and we are distributing it throughout the United States and we do a lot of that here and it's just not cutting it. Not that that doesn't have to happen, but that should be an entry-level job or that job that you don't need to support four people and a family on, you know what I mean?" SHOT OF CLOSED ICE CREAM FACTORY BROKEN WINDOW 'FOR RENT' SIGN WIDE OF CLOSED STORE SIGNS THAT READ 'STORAGE SPACE AVAILABLE' AND 'LEASE AVAILABLE' WIDE OF ATWATER SELF-STORAGE, A STORAGE FACILITY THAT WAS ONCE A TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PLANT ATWATER SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVE BEGLIOMINI, OWNER, ATWATER SELF STORAGE, SAYING: "Well hopefully he's going to, like he said he's going to, lift the restrictions on businesses. It's almost impossible to start a small business in this country with the restrictions." BEGLIOMINI STANDING NEXT TO A CONVEYOR BELT, EXPLAINING HOW IT USED TO WORK WHEN THE BUILDING WAS A MANUFACTURING PLANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVE BEGLIOMINI, OWNER, ATWATER SELF STORAGE, SAYING: "Obama came and he promised change and nothing happened, he was just another politician promising change. I don't think it mattered whether Republican, Democrat. Trump could have been a democrat and he would have won. The party had nothing to do with it." KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA (NOVEMBER 15, 2016) (REUTERS) LADIES IN 'BATHTIME BOUTIQUE', A BATH AND BODY PRODUCTS STORE CLOSE OF SHOP ASSISTANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRISTY BURGINIA, WORKS AT BATH AND BODY PRODUCTS STORE, SAYING: "She supports Obamacare and I think they really---either need to get rid of it or really makes some changes with it because, I mean, unfortunately it's not affordable. Everybody's health insurance, their health premiums keep going up, keep going up, and how can somebody afford that, and then - you're gonna tax these people, who can't afford to have health insurance? They don't have health insurance for a reason. They can't pay for it." SHOP OWNER FRANK DEVIVA WITH ASSISTANT BEHIND CASH REGISTER WIDE OF 'BAKEHOUSE' BAKERY (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRANK DEVIVA, OWNER, 'BAKEHOUSE' BAKERY, SAYING: "We'd love to do infrastructure as a country. We wish our roads were better, we wish our bridges were better. Where is the money coming from, we don't have the money as a nation. It doesn't exist. So we have to allow as much money as possible to remain in people's pockets and businesses pockets and allow that to fuel what happens in the country." PLYMOUTH, LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA (NOVEMBER 15, 2016) (REUTERS) ELECTRONIC SIGN OUTSIDE CHURCH WITH THE WORDS 'PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP' SHOT OF FLAGS ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET SHOT OF NEIGHBORHOOD IN PLYMOUTH
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2016 20:57
- Keywords: Luzerne county Pennsylvania blue state flip Trump blue collar workers
- Location: LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES
- City: LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00158TZN0N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Once a predictable Democratic stronghold, Pennsylvania's Luzerne County dramatically flipped this election season to vote overwhelmingly for Republican president-elect Donald Trump, delivering the Keystone State to the Republicans for the first time since 1988.
Trump won 78,803 votes while Clinton received 52,092 from Luzerne County, according to unofficial results reported in local newspapers. That vote difference accounted for more than 40 percent of Trump's lead over Clinton in Pennsylvania.
For resident and longtime democrat Paul Congdon, who runs one of the few remaining hardware stores in the small town of Plymouth, the political shift in his county came as no surprise.
"It is a Democratic area and they voted for Trump for a reason. Reason is people want a change. They don't want politicians anymore. They are fed up of politicians and he's an outsider. He's running on a Republican ticket but he's basically an outsider and people just voted for him for that reason. They are sick and tired of being mistreated by the politicians," said Congdon, who also voted for the billionaire businessman.
Clinton's loss in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, stemmed partly from her inability to hold voters like Congdon in white, middle and working class areas that previously went Democrat.
While Clinton came across as a status quo candidate unlikely to shake up the Washington establishment, Trump, who had never before run for public office, swayed voters with his anti-free trade message and his tough stance on illegal immigration.
But it was his promise of bringing back better-paying, high-skilled manufacturing jobs that struck a deep chord with this county's blue-collar workers, long struggling with the lack of a stable industry in the region.
"I think he can do more for the economy than anybody's gonna. I think he can make things happen that the other politicians aren't going to, you know what I mean? And in a simple fashion. I see black and white and it never seems to happen that way," said auto mechanic Nolde Robins, a former democrat who supported Trump.
At 6.2 percent, Luzerne County has an unemployment rate higher than the Pennsylvania average of 5.7 percent.
Residents say the county never fully bounced back from the decline of the coal mining industry in the 1950s that hired thousands.
In its place came a slew of low-wage, low-skilled manufacturing industries that promised to revitalize the local economy, but failed to do so.
With little use for the region's high-skilled workers, manufacturers gradually shipped their jobs to cheaper labor overseas, leaving Luzerne in an economic downspin once again.
The jobs that do remain are in giant warehouses, that distribute goods manufactured abroad. Many pay lower wages and hire a younger demographic, often Latino immigrants.
"People don't have those $25 per hour jobs, you know what I mean? You don't get that for driving a forklift or loading a truck or filling out the paperwork to get something from A to B and that's what all our warehouse space - it's all distribution, you know what I mean? We are pulling in stuff from China because it's cheap and we are distributing it through out the United States and we do a lot of that here and it's just not cutting it. Not that that doesn't have to happen, but that should be an entry-level job or that job that you don't need to support four people and a family on, you know what I mean?"
Trump's economic message also included a promise to kill free trade agreements that are unpopular among many working-class voters in industrial areas.
Dave Begliomini owns Atwater Self-Storage, a storage facility for automobiles and other goods, that was once a thriving textile manufacturing plant that hired over 350 people. All that's left of the former plant is a gas boiler and a conveyor belt.
Begliomini was forced to reinvent his business after jobs started going to China in the 90s. Like many of his neighbors, Begliomini voted for Obama in 2008, but went with Trump this year.
"Well hopefully he's going to, like he said he's going to lift the restrictions on businesses. It's almost impossible to start a small business in this country with the restrictions," Begliomini said.
"Obama came and he promised change and nothing happened, he was just another politician promising change. I don't think it mattered whether Republican, Democrat. Trump could have been a democrat and he would have won. The party had nothing to do with it."
At 'Bakehouse' bakery in Kingston, owner Frank DeViva focused on Trump's promises to lower taxes and raise infrastructure spending.
"We'd love to do infrastructure as a country. We wish our roads were better, we wish our bridges were better. Where is the money coming from, we don't have the money as a nation. It doesn't exist. So we have to allow as much money as possible to remain in people's pockets and businesses pockets and allow that to fuel what happens in the country," DeViva said.
Next door, at 'Bathtime Boutique', shop assistant Kristy Burginia, an independent voter, said Clinton would have continued the same policies that Obama had put in place, especially healthcare.
Trump called for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and labeled the 2010 law "a disaster."
"She supports Obamacare and I think they really -- either need to get rid of it or really makes some changes with it because, I mean, unfortunately it's not affordable. Everybody's health insurance, their health premiums keep going up, keep going up, and how can somebody afford that, and then - you're gonna tax these people, who can't afford to have health insurance? They don't have health insurance for a reason. They can't pay for it."
As of this week, Pennsylvania's vote count for Trump was 2.9 million, with Clinton trailing behind at 2.84 million, the state's election website reported. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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