Thousands of Democrats have requested Republican ballots in Ohio’s Mahoning County primary, the local Republican Party chairman said CNN dozens of people called him asking to vote for Donald Trump.
Mark Monroe, chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party in Youngstown, Ohio, said he was shocked when more than twice as many Republicans went to the polls on March 15. The last time a Republican had a chance in Mahoning was Richard Nixon in 1972. This year, turnout in the Republican primary was 34,000, a good sign for Trump, who received more than 17,000 votes.
“I almost fell out of my chair because there were only 14,000 to 15,000 Republicans in Mahoning County,” Monroe told CNN.
Eighteen Democratic officials lost their jobs after Dave Betras, the Democratic chairman, fired them for joining the GOP. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won Mahoning with 60 percent of the Democratic vote. Fewer than 200 Republican voters switched parties to vote in the Democratic primary.
Betras said he doubts Trump voters will overwhelm Democrats, arguing that locals are too “sophisticated” to be swayed by Trump.
“I know these people will come back,” the Democratic Party chairman said.
Monroe had high hopes for Trump. He said the Republican candidate could win Mahoning County, a miniature victory that Monroe said would signal a nationwide GOP victory.
Trump expressed his gratitude for the county’s support:
Thank you Mahoning County, Ohio! See you soon! #MakeAmericaSafeAgain https://t.co/TNJMUKImpK photo:twitter.com/iFdqRvaL3q
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2016
Debbie Taylor, one of the Democrats who switched sides, said she did not initially support Trump but changed her mind as his campaign went on.
“I was one of those people who never, ever thought he would have the temperament and the ability,” she told CNN. “The more he talked and the more everyone said, ‘He’s not a Republican, he’s not a Republican,’ it started to sink in. He’s an American.”
Taylor noted that Mahoning County is not what it once was. The population declined after unemployment rose as Youngstown’s steel mills began to close in the tardy 1970s. Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” resonates with the area’s population of 67,000.
“Donald Trump said he wants to bring back some things,” said Denny Zimmit, the grandson of a steel worker who died after losing his pension at age 70. “He’s going to bring back some things, and I think we all have to make some concessions at some point to bring back our steel, to bring back our jobs.”
