As we await final election results in Pennsylvania, voting results in one Ohio county show a promising sign for President Trump.
In the belligerent Buckeye State, President Trump won despite Joe Biden leading in the final polls. For the first time in decades, Mahoning County, where Youngstown is located, turned red.
Salena Zito points out the importance of:
Trump didn’t win the county in 2016 despite winning the state, but the vote gap away from Democrats was staggering; Hillary Clinton won the county with 49% of the vote, Trump with 46.9%. In contrast, four years earlier, President Barack Obama crushed Mitt Romney by 28 percentage points, winning more than 63% of the vote in Mahoning County.
Neighboring Trumbull County also had an impact on Trump’s Tuesday victory in Ohio, which saw the incumbent Republican gain an impressive 10-point lead.
By comparison, these “spine counties” that run along the state’s border with Pennsylvania have long been part of the Democratic wall that pushed candidates like Obama to the presidency.
“Trump’s victory in Trumbull and Mahoning counties shows that changes are taking place in the American two-party system,” explained Paul Sracic, a professor of political science at Youngstown State University.
“As recently as 2012, these two counties were among the most reliable Democratic votes in the states,” he explained. “But now the working-class voters who dominate these counties have found a new home.” (Washington Examiner)
Oh my God!! Trump wins Youngstown!! Not just the outlying counties, but Mahoning itself. Even last time he did incredibly well but lost by 3. I can’t imagine him losing PA because of that.
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) November 4, 2020
Obama won Youngstown (Mahoning County) by almost 30 points. This shows how much the electorate has changed.
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) November 4, 2020
Mahoning County Ohio (98%+ expected vote reports):
Trump 50.3%
Biden 48.3%A county with a vast white working class population that went from Obama +27 to Clinton +3. This is Youngstown.
City. Rural. To divide.#Election2020 #ElectionNight
— Ryan Matsumoto (@ryanmatsumoto1) November 4, 2020
Ominous sign for Biden in Pennsylvania: Trump runs ahead of his 2016 appearance in Trumbull County (Warren, near Youngstown and on Pennsylvania’s western border), with almost all votes counted
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) November 4, 2020
