Working-class Blue Philly voters begin turning to Trump ahead of election: 'People really love him'

Working-class Democrats in Philadelphia may be planning to vote for former President Trump in November.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday on growing trends among poorer Pennsylvania counties and precincts to lean toward the Republican Party, despite being solidly blue for years.

As an example, the report cited 27-year-old Gabriel Lopez, who registered as a Democrat and voted for Hillary Clinton in his first election in 2016. He has since changed his registration to Republican and expressed support for Trump.

“Democrats keep saying (Trump) is going to crash the economy, but he's already been president for four years and taxes have been lower,” Lopez said. “We are tired of the same politics. We have a different type of man and people really love him.”

Some Democrats are considering voting for former President Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in deep blue Philadelphia. (Getty Images)

PHILLY VOTERS ARE ON ECONOMY: 'EVERYONE IS FIGHTING NOW'

The article added: “Lopez embodies one of the Democrats’ biggest problems in Pennsylvania: working-class voters in Philadelphia, once a reliable voting bloc for the party, have drifted to the right in recent years. And they have been disproportionately affected by rising prices in recent years, a problem that many blame Democrats for.”

Although Philadelphia, home to 20% of the state's Democratic voters, could be crucial for Vice President Kamala Harris to win the state, the Inquirer reported that the city lost the most Democratic voters of any city in the 2020 election.

The trend was most pronounced in poorer, less educated areas, with majority-Latino neighborhoods showing the most movement, likely out of concern about the economy.

Retired truck driver and registered Democrat Jim Kohn called this his top issue.

“When Trump was president, everything was cheaper,” Kohn said. “Everything is so sky high now.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump share equal support among likely voters in Pennsylvania. (Getty Images)

Other Democrats in the region remained optimistic about Harris' chances, although some were sympathetic to the growing support for Trump.

“Many of us have people in our families who have gone to prison or gone to schools that have failed us. We have no trust in the government,” said Álvarez Febo, a Democrat who plans to vote for Harris. “Then you have someone like Trump, who is a liar, and for some people it’s like, ‘You know something? It's an honest representation of what we feel.'”

“They say Kamala will save our democracy,” Febo added. “That means very little to people who can’t keep the lights on.”

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Some Republicans, however, were very optimistic about possible political change in the city.

“When I first got into politics in 1978, the leadership was Republican – no one votes like their bosses,” said Charlie O'Connor, chairman of the 45th Constituency. “Now most people in the managerial class vote democratically, and no one votes like their boss. So it was a turnaround. Most of the bosses are Democrats and the Democratic Party has become the party of the upper middle class.”

One resident told Fox News, “I personally feel like the economy is bad right now.” (Fox News)

Pennsylvania is considered one of the most competitive states in this presidential election. A Fox News poll showed Harris and Trump tied at 49% among likely voters in the state. Trump won Pennsylvania against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but lost the state to President Biden in 2020.

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