Could a Pennsylvania primary decide the Democratic party’s new direction? | Dustin Guastella

Election in Allentown pits three establishment insiders against a firefighter with a populist message

Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the kind of place the national media brings up every now and then to talk about the troubles of the working class. That's for good reason: the city is a great stand-in for America's blue-collar blues. Billy Joel even wrote a song about it. The same goes for neighboring Bethlehem, which once was home to the largest steelmaking operation in the world. That operation shuttered in 2003 and was replaced by a casino.

No doubt the Lehigh valley has seen better days. But it's not all in the rear view. In fact, this week this blue-collar bastion could decide the future of the Democratic party.

Dustin Guastella is a research associate at the Center for Working Class Politics and the director of operations for Teamsters Local 623