Voters queuing in Scranton had been at the coalface of the fiercely fought election battle in the months leading up to this day – a day that could have been very different for them had hometown boy President Joe Biden still been in the running.

Biden snatched Pennsylvania from Trump in 2020 after it went to the 2016 Republican candidate for the first time in 24 years, a victory likely aided by the US president’s pedigree.

Biden was born in the working-class city of Scranton, which was once home to generations of coal miners and rail workers, and told Democrat supporters last month the state was “the kind of place that climbs into your heart and never leaves you”.

That was after he bowed out of the running in July, handing the race to his vice president, revitalising the Democrats’ campaign after mounting pressure for him to step aside following a woeful debate in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the critical swing states.

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The president, who has kept a lower profile in the final stages of the race, returned to his hometown three days ago in a bid to ensure the state’s valuable 19 Electoral College votes went to Kamala Harris.

“I’m so proud to be back,” Biden told union workers at a small hall in Scranton, revisiting tested remarks about his and Harris’ support for unions, his pride in having been the first president to walk a picket line, and their efforts to restore pensions.

“Don’t forget where you came from,” he said to applause, warning of the ramifications if Trump is elected and does away with the Affordable Care Act healthcare program, which was Obama’s signature achievement.

In recent weeks, both Harris and Trump have visited Scranton, with the latter last month using a high-octane event there to personally attack Harris.

On Monday, Harris asked an assembled crowd in the town: “Are you ready to do this?” as she spent the final hours of a whirlwind day criss-crossing the state.