Selena Zito writes about the changing political winds in Erie, PA.
If John Persinger wins the mayoral race in Erie, Pa., next month, it just might be the greatest local political upset in America this century. A Republican candidate has not been elected mayor here since 1961, when JFK was president.
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But it is also a struggling city, where schools are hurting financially, the opioid epidemic is rampant and the manufacturing base is collapsing — all factors that led Erie County residents to vote for a Republican president in 2016, the first since Ronald Reagan.
The city of Erie, however, is a different story — Hillary Clinton won all 69 of its voting districts over Donald Trump.