An hour south of Cleveland, I cross into Canaan Township on a crisp October afternoon, spotting a farm with a herd of goats. “Goats!” I exclaim to the empty passenger seat. I am not from around here, but I used to think I knew Wayne County, Ohio.
In 2008, I arrived in Wooster, the county seat, to work as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. For five months, a small Democratic Party headquarters became my universe. As I recruited volunteers, I learned that people were drawn to Obama not just for his message, but for the connections we forged in a rural community.
On Election Night, Obama made history, becoming the first Democrat to win Wooster since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. This victory was especially meaningful in a predominantly white county where many felt like outsiders in their own community. “I never thought I’d live to see this,” remarked Linda Houston, a local professor who had generously offered me her guest room. Her excitement reflected the sense of hope that came with Obama’s win, transcending mere party affiliation.
However, the political landscape has drastically changed since that historic election. In 2016, Donald Trump outperformed Mitt Romney’s previous results in Wayne County by 15 percentage points. In 2020, he widened his margin by another three points. While I once celebrated a narrow loss for Republicans, Trump’s victory by over 20,000 votes felt personal.
After years spent on the East Coast, I returned to Wayne County to understand the shift. About a week prior to my visit, I reached out to former volunteers, seeking connections with those who had switched from supporting Obama to Trump. Surprisingly, many claimed they didn’t know anyone who had made the switch. Even Linda, who knows everyone in the area, struggled to identify any “switchers.”
During my visit, I experienced an unsettling nostalgia. I drove through the familiar landscape, spotting cows and other livestock, but sensed an underlying tension. Conversations with locals confirmed my suspicions. Jim and Inez Bird, owners of a local restaurant, noted that while jobs have returned—thanks to companies like GoJo and Smucker’s—this didn’t fully explain the political shift toward Trump.
Despite a thriving local economy and low unemployment rates, voters opted for the former president. “If the economy doesn’t explain the change, what does?” I asked Inez. She shook her head, echoing the confusion expressed by others.
I also met Cindy Bernardy, an academic administrator, and her husband, Steve, a lifelong Republican who voted for Obama before supporting Trump. Their political discussions often tread carefully to avoid straining their marriage. Steve’s perspective offered insight into the complexities of shifting allegiances.
As I navigated this transformed political landscape, it became clear that understanding the reasons behind the shift from Obama to Trump in Wayne County was as complicated as the community itself. The shared experiences of the past have now intertwined with divergent political beliefs, leaving many, including myself, pondering the profound changes that have reshaped this once-familiar territory.
