OHIO — President Donald Trump won Ohio by eight points again this election, which contradicts polls predicting a tight race.

“This is the biggest election in American history in my opinion,” said one Portage County early voter.

What You Need To Know

  • Nine Ohio counties voted for Obama in 2012 and 2008, and Trump in 2016. All but one went red again in 2020

  • Ashtabula, Erie, Montgomery, Ottawa, Portage, Sandusky, Stark, Trumbull, and Wood are “pivot counties.”

  • Other counties to watch are Mahoning and Lorain. They're not considered pivot counties right now, but both switched from Democrat to Republican this election

Nine Ohio counties voted for President Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008, and President Donald Trump in 2016. All but one went red again in 2020.

Ashtabula, Erie, Montgomery, Ottawa, Portage, Sandusky, Stark, Trumbull and Wood are “pivot counties.”

It’s a phenomenon that fascinates political analysts like Dr. Thomas Sutton of Baldwin Wallace University, on one hand because it indicates a shift in political realignment.

“Then the question is, is that because they see advantages of one party versus a party that they had been aligned with? Or is it that there are changes to the parties themselves that are causing that realignment?” said Dr. Sutton.

Unofficial results show that only one pivot county in the state voted for Biden. Montgomery County flipped back to blue this time.

“Good example of one of the many areas of Ohio that has an urban core, Dayton, surrounded by suburbs that population wise actually have more of an influence on that county's vote than the urban core itself because it’s shrinking,” said Dr. Sutton.

Another county to watch is Mahoning.

“Actually, I haven’t voted in a while. This is the first time in a while,” said one Mahoning County voter.

It’s not classified as a pivot county, but after voting Democratic in 2008, 2012, and 2016, Trump won in 2020.

Dr. Sutton says the arguably fading manufacturing industry in old steel town counties could be to blame.

“And that the Democratic party that they kept voting for hasn’t done much about it and so they moved over to voting for Trump and his promise to revive the steel industry similar to what he’s tried to do to the coal industry, the auto industry and even if those promises aren’t necessarily fulfilled, there’s still that sense that they’re giving him a chance,” said Dr. Sutton.

Same thing in Lorain County. Hillary Clinton barely won in 2016, and Trump prevailed in 2020.

But Dr. Sutton says you need more election cycles before calling it a pivot county and one big question is if these other "pivots" are permanent in the GOP's favor.

“Is President Trump a sign of a realignment of the Republican party or is this more of an anomaly because of having an extraordinarily charismatic leader who has reshaped a lot of what the parties doing, but that once he leaves the scene that it may not have lasting effects,” said Dr. Sutton.