Much Of Ohio Is Trump Country. And That Complicates Things For The GOP

[TexasTowelie]

In Licking County, Ohio, east of the capital city of Columbus, bumper stickers on pickup trucks make it clear it is Trump Country.

And at a recent meeting of the county's Republican women's group, 66-year-old retiree Geraldine Jacobs made it clear that she's a Trump supporter.

"It's a shame that we went from the best president to now really the worst president," she says.

Trump won 63% of the vote in Licking County in last year's presidential election, en route to easily carrying the state for the second time. The result seemed to prove that Ohio is not the perennial battleground state many had still thought it was.

Republican politics in Ohio has also changed in the era of Trump. And with the retirement of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman — a fixture of the GOP establishment — more change is coming. As the Republican field to replace him begins to take shape in these very early days, it's clear Trump retains an outsized influence in the state.

Read more: https://www.wgbh.org/news/national-news/2021/05/29/much-of-ohio-is-trump-country-and-that-complicates-things-for-the-gop

[Botany]

1. After my mom passes I'm out of here

Much of Ohio has become North Alabama. Gerrymandering, hate talk radio TV & internet, racism that has
gotten worse, proud to be stupid mother fuckers, a crashing of once was one of the finest public education
systems in America (both k-12 and college/universities), and republican control of the elections and government
has been brutal.

[True Blue American]

4. Kasich cut Education

To fund his crooked friends Private Schools. So much in his last budget the Legislature o put the funds back in.

[Botany]

12. The gutting of education and the turning of OH into a one party state started before Kasich

Gov. Jim Rhodes as republican and conservative as it gets had a blueprint to make sure that
their was a university, college, community college, or tech school w/in 50 miles of everybody
in OH.

Also in OH and across the nation we are seeing the effects of the creeping and toxic brain cancer
that is Fox News and their ilk. Not too long ago Americans lined up @ local schools to get the
polio vaccine and that disease was wiped out but now we have Fox News and Company pushing
disinformation about the C-19 vaccines, masks, and vaccine passports for political reasons.

[True Blue American]

14. Rhodes was liked by both parties.

4 time winner. He really improved Ohio.

[Botany]

16. Jim had many faults, he was corrupt as hell, and I think he egged on the Ohio N.G. the night ....

.... before the shooting at Kent State but even though he himself didn't have a college degree he
worked to make sure that post high school education and or tech school training was available and
affordable. He also supported unions and infrastructure too. If it was a state road or bridge he
made sure it was fixed and or improved and if some county roads were in disrepair he had his local
boys get after the county to do what was needed to be done.

"Can't get to work if the roads are bad." Jim "build em" Rhodes. BTW Rhodes would have no truck
with these anti vaccine fools. He saw what polio did to people.

[True Blue American]

18. Rhodes also

Upgraded the Service Stops in the state to the 20th century.

I was not much into politics at that time. I knew Politics was dirty but nothing compared to what we have today. Voinovich, Gilligan received respect.

Today even Republicans fight each other"

[NEOBuckeye]

22. Fuck Kasich

I hate that man with a passion. I still don’t get why so many Dems voted for him in the 2016 primary here. He is not our friend.

[True Blue American]

24. People in other states think he would be good with

Hickenlooper. If only they knew he left a 23 million dollar private school scandal that DeWine ignored until he decided to run for Governor. He intended to prosecute, never heard of it again. He also signed the bribery bill. Promised Daytonians he would sign a gun bill after they booed him off the stage in Dayton after the massacre. Just recently signed an open carry bill.

I still question his election. Thom Suddes calls them,” The Court house gang!”

[NEOBuckeye]

25. Kasich only thrived because Ohio Dems are so dysfunctional

I mean, FitzGerald in 2014 basically gifted Kasich re-election by his own sheer ineptitude. That was a gimme that Kasich never even remotely deserved.

There’s actually zero reason he should have won after his HB5 “right to work”/anti-union proposal was shot down in flames statewide in 2012. A competent Democratic Party would have torched him for it daily and used it as their platform to bludgeon him in 2014. But Ohio Dems? Utterly fucking clueless. They basically handed that robber the keys to the Brinks Truck with a smile and shrugged it off.

Had they beat him in 2014, he would not have run a vanity campaign in 2016. Perhaps some other scandals, like ECOT-William Lager and Householder’s bribery would have also been exposed and dealt with before they blew up as the messes that they were allowed to become.

This past decade of unfettered Republican Rule here has been absolutely brutal. I hate these motherfuckers and the mess they have made of this state.

[True Blue American]

28. Let us hope the

Next election and a committee to redistrict will change the Federal. Republicans are now fighting DeWine.

John Cranley and Nan Whaley are running. Both from Government cities.

[blueinredohio]

2. In my county Trump won by 75%.

[True Blue American]

3. Most of the cities where people actually work

In Ohio vote Democrat Cincinnati has a Democratic Mayor. John Cranley. So does Dayton, Nan Whaley, a woman who has really restored the city. Both are running for Governor.

We really need a JD Vance or Josh Mandel to replace Portman!

Tim Ryan is running. Democrats had to force the hand of Republicans to oust $61 million dollar bribester Householder. They filed, forcing Republicans to file 2 hours later.

We voted for a committee to redistricting. Ohio put Obama over the top so I am optimistic.

[blueinredohio]

10. I hope when you say we need Vance or Mandel

to replace Portman you're being sarcastic.

[True Blue American]

13. Indeed I am

A guy who wrote a book on his dysfunctional family. I know thousands who did the same and are doing just fine. And Trump lover, Josh. He lost to Sherrod twice. Nasty little twit!

[NEOBuckeye]

26. Vance and Mandel are both self-serving shitbags

Vance may be somewhat more tolerable than Mandel, who comes off as a snot-nosed entitled brat, but I don’t want either of them as senator. Vance is basically a Wall Street puppet. He won’t serve the people of this state. Everything about Mandel just screams “ME, ME, ME!” He’s totally in it for his own ego, not what he can do for the people of Ohio.

They both suck and can go to hell.

[True Blue American]

29. Vance is also a Trump licker.

He went to MaraLego. Mandel ran against Sherrod twice. The Republicans refused to let him in a meeting.

Tim Ryan is running to replace Portman.

[kacekwl]

5. I'd love to hear this lovely lady explain

what exactly changed for her that made trump the best president. Did she make more money ? did her community grow and thrive ? did her healthcare costs go down ? what was the benefit of the trump presidency that made him the best ? I wish these people were pressed for an answer preferably in complete sentences.

[Freddie]

8. It's like all the screaming about "election fraud"

Ask them to prove it and they just spout crap like “it will all come out!”
My DIL is from Cuyahoga Falls, now lives in FL with my son, a Bernie Democrat. She’d seen the light politically but her folks, especially her dad, are Trumpers. Not really a problem as long as the folks stay in Ohio but I fear they will move to FL within the next few years. When the families get together the unspoken rule is NO POLITICS and I’m a pro at deftly changing the subject if someone tries.

[True Blue American]

19. My Son married into a Republican family.

He has the family parties. A few years ago after Trump was elected he yelled,” No politics!” One had been trying to explain,” ObamaCare”, to me! I told them I had followed the Law all the way through on CSPAN, up to watching Sherrod Brown fly back from his Mother’s funeral to cast the deciding vote in the Senate at midnight!

I have since found out there are a few Democrats.

[Sibelius Fan]

6. tRump went from being the worst president ever to being the absolutely worst

President ever.

There. I fixed it for Mrs Jacobs.

BTW - I’m also 66.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I left Ohio in 1976. It's definitely not the same as when I grew up

there. I have only gone back to bury family ashes in the family cemetery that goes back to 1800. I gave up my 'spot', next to my parents, to my brother-in-law in 2017. I will not return.

[luvs2sing]

9. I grew up in Licking County.

Back then, Newark and Heath were thriving with businesses and industry. Granville had (and still has) Denison University. Outside of that, it was very rural, lots of farms. My parents were liberal, but the rest of the family was not. Still, I don’t remember politics being divisive. In the 60s and 70s, it was a pretty nice place to grow up. Even into the 90s, it wasn’t too bad, and I visited family regularly. These days, I only go over for bedside vigils and funerals because I know everyone will be on their good behavior. I don’t recognize my home town or the people who live there. It’s kinda like crazy zombies have taken over.

[True Blue American]

20. Drive up 75

You will see that Cincinnati and Dayton have almost merged into one corridor.

Southwestern Ohio has changed drastically.

[luvs2sing]

23. Our younger daughter lives in Cincy..

and we have several friends in the Dayton area. The changes are shocking. Heck, Columbus is building out to the east now and pretty soon it feels like Newark and Heath will become suburbs. When I left Heath and moved to Columbus it was because I was far enough away to raise hell without everyone knowing what I was up to, but close enough to go back if I needed to.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

11. Sounds like Licking County has morphed into Boot Licking County,

[WHITT]

15. My Relatives Tell Me

that Governor DeWine has rolled-out some kind of campaign to encourage people and businesses to move to Ohio. They said he should be doing more to encourage Ohio residents and businesses to not leave the state. I told them it's no surprise, given the anti-worker, anti-union, anti-consumer, anti-reproductive rights, anti-LGBTQ rights, and now anti-voter environment that DeWine and his Repub legislature have imposed on the state.

[ladym55]

30. Oh, yes

I saw commercials for Ohio as great for business while staying in Massachusetts. I kinda laughed because people who live in Massachusetts (even the more conservative ones) would never put up with the craptastic mess that Ohio has become. The only thing Ohio has in its favor is that housing is CHEAP. Schools are crummy, services are crummy, and the legislature has completely lost whatever they had left of their minds.

[SoCalDavidS]

17. I Really Wish The Rock & Roll Hall And Cedar Point Were In A Different State

I'd like to go there again, but am reluctant given their political leanings.

Same goes with New Orleans, in Hick filled Louisiana.

I hate this country.

[True Blue American]

21. Now, come on!

All the state is not bad.. Republicans have just gerrymandered, thanks to John Boehner who drew it.

This year we have voted for an independent Committee who will draw the Districts. One reason Republicans are doing so much dirty work.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

27. My county was won by Biden/Harris, but...

... Democrats and progressives are definitely becoming less common around this area.

The decades of nothing but right-wing messaging on radio stations in this area surely hasn't helped matters.

It was happening even while I was aware of more liberal-minded people who despised it, but we mostly shrugged our shoulders about it back then.