Why is Lackawanna County, PA so Democratic?

[Cyrusman]

Majority white, non college graduate, working class area, which is home to mining. Really does not seem like a place where the modern day Democrat party should do well. Why is is so overwhelmingly liberal?

[Sol]

Reasonably large and urban, and the local variety of coal mining was anthracite, which went belly-up much earlier, in time to avoid as strong a perceived conflict with environmentalism.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Anthracite died when the railroads switched to diesel and the home heating systems were switched over to heating oil (1950s-1960s). NE PA experienced two massive economic crashes within twenty five years or so. The first being the 1930s, the second being in the late 1950s, with a short term recovery in between thanks to the Wars pounding the still steam powered railroads into oblivion.

After that, my area (Susquehanna County) began to look to the Cold War era defense and white collar industry that was big in Broome County, NY for jobs and careers. That lasted until the 1990s when those sectors contracted obviously.

This is why Susquehanna remained so heavily Republican, despite being right next to Lackawanna county. Its also in the Binghamton media market and getting channels from Scranton was always difficult because of the mountains.  

[ProgressiveModerate]

I agree with what the 2 above posters have said specifically about the history of coal there and media markets.

One interesting comparison I've seen before is to Mahoning County, Ohio, which is at face value demographically somewhat similar, but the non-Youngstown portion was like Trump + 14 compared to Lackwanna where Biden still won the County without Scranton. In Lackawanna, almost all the "rurals" still seem to be under the influence of Scranton whereas in Mahoning County, rurals in the western section are completely disconnected from Youngstown and truly rural.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

Trump still did better there than other recent Republicans.

[Tintrlvr]

I agree with what the 2 above posters have said specifically about the history of coal there and media markets.

One interesting comparison I've seen before is to Mahoning County, Ohio, which is at face value demographically somewhat similar, but the non-Youngstown portion was like Trump + 14 compared to Lackwanna where Biden still won the County without Scranton. In Lackawanna, almost all the "rurals" still seem to be under the influence of Scranton whereas in Mahoning County, rurals in the western section are completely disconnected from Youngstown and truly rural.

Mahoning County is fairly flat and decent for farming. Lackawanna County is quite mountainous and not suitable for farming at all outside of the river valley floor (which is urbanized). On the whole Lackawanna's population is much more urban than Mahoning's.