"This felt good," said Frank Tunis, 60, a Republican who switched parties just so he could vote for Clinton.
In Philadelphia, of course, it was a different story, with upscale, college-educated voters and young people turning out in droves for Obama, who managed to marshal his biggest rally crowd to date -- 35,000.
But the Scranton voter is a crucial Democratic constituency Obama would need to win in a November matchup with the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. And for all the Clinton worship that was going on Tuesday, there were signs that Obama had made inroads, though some felt uncomfortable acknowledging it.
Annamae Collins, 83, walked out of Fargione Auto Shop, her polling place, and whispered, "I went for Obama." She would not be sharing that news with her best friend, Delores. "I think she would be mad."
There is a lot of pressure in Scranton to back the girl with the local roots, even if she did grow up outside Chicago.
Tim Maloney, a 47-year-old manufacturing plant manager, figured as recently as two months ago that was what he would do. But Tuesday morning, in the privacy of the plastic booth, he didn't. "I didn't know until I got in there. But Obama just seems so natural, so comfortable. He reminds me of a young Kennedy."
But it wasn't all about economics and ancestry. An undercurrent of race ran through the decision-making here, and most people interviewed acknowledged that some in Scranton, as in many American places, will not vote for a black man.
"It's my generation and older, it's not the kids," one 40-something man said. Another woman dropped her voice and admitted, "I don't think this country is ready for a black president."
If Clinton fails to win the nomination, what will her devoted Scranton following do? This is a population that has become so comfortable with the Clintons' attentions that phrases such as "Where is Bill today?" roll off the tongue.
Some said they would seriously consider voting for McCain, and Lipchus of Simon's Restaurant said he would stay home if he couldn't vote for Clinton. But many other Democrats said they would stick with their party's choice.
That all of this attention would end was evident even before the polls closed and the candidates blew town. They left the echo of promises to rescue troubled places like this one. Voters said they appreciated the sentiment, but did not expect the new president to pass through Scranton any time soon.
"Not until the next election anyway," said auto shop owner John Fargione.
faye.fiore@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Hard times
How Scranton, Pa., compares with Lackawanna County, Pa., and the U.S.; 2006 figures:
Scranton population
1990: 81,805
2000: 76,415
2006: 72,861
*--* -- INCOME POVERTY JOBLESS Scranton $31,090 17.2% 5.8% Lackawanna Co. $38,915 12.9% 5.0% Pennsylvania $46,259 12.1% 6.2% U.S. $48,451 13.3% 6.4% *--*
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau
