Republican shift across counties in Philadelphia region helped Trump win Pennsylvania

WEST GOSHEN TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- President-elect Donald Trump managed to not only take the swing state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, but he increased his voting margin in every county across the Philadelphia region.

While his win surprised many across the country, some voters in the Keystone State were not surprised.

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"Because of the last four years, the way everything has been going -- the price of fuel, food, everything," said Tom Rossiter of Parksburg.

When compared to the results of the 2020 election, Trump gained the most ground in Bucks County, increasing his margin by three points.

He also gained ground in deep blue Philadelphia by more than two points.

"It strongly suggests that some people who had previously voted for Democrats in 2020, voted for Republicans in 2024," said Richard Dilworth, a political science professor who specializes in urban political history and political cycles at Drexel University.

Dilworth believes the shift toward the Republican party was the result of three things: immigration, a shift among Black and Latino voters, and the loss of union support for Democrats.

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That support had been deteriorating since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect in the 1990s, which eliminated tariffs.

"It's not a shock that the majority of the swing stats are in the rust belt and they're the places where NAFTA hit the hardest," said Dilworth. "They're the places that had the biggest decreases in terms of union work."

That sentiment rings true with Rossiter. He is a teamster member and drives a truck.

"Everybody I work with -- I'm with a big company -- laborers, operators, they're all pro-Trump," he explained.

Overall, the president-elect out-performed in all the swing states and nearly every county in Pennsylvania.