Elizabeth Warren is going after voters in Joe Biden’s backyard – and she’s getting a pretty warm welcome.

At least that’s what went down on Monday, when the Democratic presidential candidate attended a town hall meeting in northeastern Philadelphia. Some 180 union members braved drizzling and bracingly cold rain to hear the senator speak up close and personal.

She had a plan for almost everything, or so she said. And the voters – teachers, students, and workers in the Philadelphia area – seemed to like what she had to say during her first visit to the state on the 2020 campaign trail.

Warren touted her campaign mantra of big structural changes to the US economy that would put middle class and working class voters first, as well as restore power to unions, and get Americans of all races and backgrounds into college free of charge. “And I’ve got a plan for that … in fact, I have several,” she said.

The presidential candidate’s trip comes just a week before Biden holds the first major rally of his 2020 bid in the same city. Philadelphia is one of America’s largest and most historical cities – it also happens to sit between the Democratic front-runner’s childhood hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the state he served for decades as a senator, Delaware.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. 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But Warren’s first visit to Pennsylvania – a state that shocked America in 2016 by voting for Donald Trump after twice helping elect Barack Obama – was accompanied by much less fanfare than what is planned for Biden’s extravaganza next week. The former vice president is expected to pull out all the stops, speaking in front of the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Rocky steps, alongside the lovably bizarre hockey mascot Gritty.

Warren’s town hall was a bit more personal. It allowed her to get to know the voters of the state, and to make the case that she – a public school teacher from Oklahoma turned lawyer turned senator – has what it takes to beat Donald Trump, and knows what workers are going through.

Thurston Moon, a science and math teacher from Philadelphia, said the hour-long event with Massachussetts senator Warren had had an effect on him.

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“I’m a fan of Bernie Sanders,” Moon said. “I’ve been a fan of Joe Biden for a long time. Those two, you know, they’re on my radar. But I don’t think I’ve heard either of them say anything as progressive as I heard today from senator Warren.”

Moon said he had been leaning towards supporting the former vice president, but Warren’s plans – not to mention her charisma, and the occasional sly joke at the expense of some fat cats on Wall Street – had stirred up something other than practicality.

“I really was leaning towards Biden at first because I figured he had that background that would help him get that leg up over Trump – but I don’t want to look for a nominee just because they’re going to beat Trump,” he said, acknowledging that he had been won over by Warren. “I want to look for a nominee because they’re going to be good for America.”

But Warren still faces an uphill battle if she hopes to be the one to take on Trump next November. Nearly all of the 22 presidential candidates have found themselves in the long shadow cast by the former vice president’s soaring poll numbers.

Biden, in the latest aggregate of polls from Real Clear Politics, comes in first with 40 per cent of the Democratic primary support. He’s followed by Bernie Sanders with 16.3 per cent. Warren comes in third place, with roughly half of that, 8.3 per cent.

Polling aside, Biden and Sanders have both made a name for themselves as adept fundraisers. Biden posted the largest first-day fundraising total – $6.3m (£4.9m), compared with Sanders’ $5.9m (£4.6m) – and, unlike Warren, has shown a willingness to accept checks from major donors. Warren, meanwhile, posted a $6m fundraising haul for the entire first quarter of 2019, and will likely be topped in the arena by Biden as he continues to court big donors.

Nevertheless, Warren strutted confidently into the union hall in Philadelphia on Monday and made her case. As children played at the back, the senator explained her plan to tax Americans with wealth over $50m to make public university and college fees free, and to unburden millions of Americans from their student loans.

I guess originally I was thinking whoever can beat Trump is who I’ll support but I want to lean into really supporting a candidate I am passionate about Voter Elizabeth Spencer

She talked about levelling the playing field for black and white Americans and promised to take on the Koch brothers, controversial businessmen who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on their political causes.

Warren laid out plans to tackle others with vested interests who pump dollars into Washington to keep the oil and gas industry alive, climate change be damned.

The crowd ate it up. Biden may be the closest thing to a hometown hero, but the voters in Philadelphia were at least open to other options with months to go before the first contests are held in the Democratic nomination.

For some, such as Elizabeth Spencer, a mother of two who attended the town hall, there’s still time for inspiration. And she’s not as worried about the media hand-wringing that Warren might not be electable as a woman and a progressive.