In the northwest corner of Ohio sits a county with an enviable bellwether reputation—only twice over the past 60 years voting against the presidential winner.
Wood County—as with Ottawa County, its neighbor to the east along Lake Erie—is filled with farm fields, is home to many military veterans (about 7,000 of them), and hasn’t seen much expansion or change since the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Wood (population 132,248), and Ottawa, are known as bellwether counties for picking the presidential candidate who wins the White House—but it is uncertain whether Wood County can maintain that reputation.
Since picking the winning candidate in Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964, it has deviated from the winner only twice. A former Republican stronghold, Wood County supported GOP candidates Gerald Ford in 1976, and Donald Trump in 2020.
“The state as a whole is going more Republican,” Wood County Board of Elections Director Julie Baumgardner told The Epoch Times.
“We’re still there right now as a bellwether county, but we don’t know whether we'll keep it up.”
The northern portion of the county, in towns such as Rossford and Northwood, is the blue-collar and working-class crowd and Perrysburg is home to upscale housing developments.
In the southern area just off Interstate 75 sits Bowling Green, the county seat and home of Bowling Green State University and Doyt L. Perry Stadium, where the Falcons draw large crowds in the Mid-American Conference.
State residents are awaiting a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court about whether it will approve the newly proposed congressional map that the Ohio Redistricting Commission submitted to the high court earlier this month.
“Nothing has changed regarding the date of the May 3 primary election,” Baumgardner said.
“We and the rest of the state’s boards of elections have been directed by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office to hold the election on May 3. If that date were to change, the Ohio legislature is the only one who can request to postpone or change the date of an election through legislative action.”
Of Wood County’s 92,119 registered voters, 9,479 of them are Democrats, 8,315 are Republicans, and 74,240 are independents, according to numbers from the Board of Elections.
Residents who were asked about any candidate choices tended to be true to their reputation as a bellwether county, with more of a wait-and-see type of attitude of seeing who’s going to step up as a presidential candidate in 2024.
“We’ve always had a mix of voters,” Baumgardner added. “The economy and good-paying jobs always have been an issue up here.”
For the first time in as long as she can remember, since becoming a registered voter 35 years ago, all three county commissioners are Republicans.
When Republican Dr. Ted Bowlus defeated Democrat Joel Kuhlman in the 2016 election, it completed a single-party commission.
In the May 3 primary, there’s also a mix of familiar names with new candidates on the ballot.
Longtime Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat who has been in Congress since 1983, is running for reelection; Teresa Gavarone and J.R. Majewski are competing in the GOP primary.
Under a changed political landscape in Ottawa County, Commissioner Mark Coppeler, a Republican, also looked at the bigger picture.
Growth in recent years has been a challenge, if not nonexistent, he said.
“It'll be interesting to see who wins Sen. Rob Portman’s seat,” Coppeler said. The Republican has “been a big supporter of water quality on Lake Erie, and we’re looking to get another candidate that sees that as a priority.”
Portman won’t be seeking reelection; seven Republicans are competing in the primary election for the party’s nomination: Matt Dolan, Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel, Neil Patel, Mark Pukita, Jane Timken, and J.D. Vance.
The Democrats who are vying for that party’s nomination are Morgan Harper, Traci Johnson, and Tim Ryan, who has been serving in Congress for the past 2o years, or 10 consecutive terms.
The top post in Ohio also is in play.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is running for reelection and facing candidates Joe Blystone, Jim Renacci, and Ron Hood in the primary. Competing for the Democratic nomination are John Cranley and former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
Although longtime county residents say that Wood County is in pretty good shape overall—as there has been some recent industrial development on its north side—it also has been affected by national issues such as inflation, the price of gasoline, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages.
Now, it’s the situation with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how that might affect the world and its economies.
Longtime Bowling Green resident Doug Miller, a conservative and Donald Trump supporter who works as a chief operating officer for a heavy-duty trucking company in nearby Fremont, said the company, which was heavily affected during the pandemic, is still navigating challenges.
“Logistics are a nightmare,” Miller said.
In addition to seeing a 25 percent increase in fuel costs in the past year, the company has resorted to buying used trucks instead of new ones when it needs them.
Miller is often faced with tough decisions in his business.
“With all the inflation, it’s challenging, and can be tricky to run a business,” Miller, 58, said. “Because of the current situation, I have to look at our finances and say, ‘Can I get this new truck, can I hire these two to three new employees, can we go into this new line of business? We have loads that sometimes don’t cover the fuel costs.’
“During the COVID pandemic, nobody was on the roads. When there was, we were making money pulling people out of ditches.”
Because of supply chain issues, it’s also difficult to find parts, Miller said. Recently, the company needed to find a part for one of its trucks, and it actually located the only part available in the United States and was able to get it.
“Shortages are all over the place,” Miller said. “Logistically, it’s a disaster. It’s crazy. We have so many units that need to be repaired and we can’t get the parts.
“Overall, the county is in good shape, and has a lot going for it.”
Miller cited seeing some retail and light industrial development around the county in recent years—a Bass Pro Shops store in Bowling Green, a 1 million-square-foot expansion for First Solar in Perrysburg in 2018, and downtown revitalization in Bowling Green.
The expansion for First Solar was made possible by changes in the U.S. Corporate Tax Policy during the Trump administration. In 2020 the expansion also began generating $898,000 a year for the next 15 years for Lake Local Schools.
One major planned project in Wood County pulled out—Peloton, an exercise bike and interactive exercise equipment manufacturer. Peloton plans to complete construction on the building on its 200-acre property and sell it, but will downsize its workforce.
“That was a blow to the area,” Miller said about Peloton ending its plans for a $400 million project. “We'll just have to wait and see who will go into the building.
“Farming also is huge here. Getting fertilizer can be a challenge.”
A number of fertilizer plants closed across the country last year due to natural gas shortages. Natural gas is a key ingredient in the process used to make the nitrogen-based fertilizer used on crops such as corn and wheat.
Miller doesn’t hesitate to say that he isn’t happy with the current state of affairs and he doesn’t know who he'll vote for in the next presidential election. He said he’s concerned but hopeful for the future.
He voted for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and said he'd vote for him again if he were the Republican nominee.
In addition to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Miller said he likes Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas as a possible presidential candidate.
“We need creative leadership,” Miller said. “I don’t feel good about the leadership in our country right now.”
Richard Zulch, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam as a combat engineer from 1969 through 1971 and is the quartermaster for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4811 in Bowling Green, said he has been able to see the political landscape from both sides of the fence.
He worked in HVAC repair with the local pipefitters union and also owns a small concession business, setting up at events.
With the price of gas going up, Zulch is afraid of a return to high fuel prices caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana 16 years ago and that soaring costs will again hurt his business.
“When gas went up that time, our sales went down to zero,” Zulch said. “Those dollars won’t be there, because people will be buying gas.
“As far as Wood County being a bellwether county, we do have a mixed group of people here. This is a high farming community.”
While Zulch said he voted for Trump in both presidential elections, he says he'll have to wait and see who runs before saying who he would vote for in 2024.
“In 2016, he definitely was the lesser of two evils,” Zulch said. “I think all politicians are crooks. Our politicians need to look on both sides of the fence and work together. Right now, it’s horrible. Peoples’ common sense level is cooked.
“We have to figure out a way to control fuel prices. It’s going to affect trucking, farming, everything.
“We need to make ourselves energy independent again. We need to make sure we keep our gun rights.”
Just off Interstate 75 at the Pemberville/Bowling Green exit, is Fricker’s, a popular eatery and gathering place for people of all ages, where Chris Chamberlin of Bowling Green works as the restaurant’s manager. While declining to say which political party he supports or how he votes, he told The Epoch Times that he used to work at the Fricker’s in Findlay, which is south of Bowling Green, but transferred to his current location last year because of the high price of gas.
Chamberlin, who has worked for the regional chain for 17 years, estimates he has saved about $2,000 in gas over the past year.
He told The Epoch Times that he’s facing workforce shortages and currently only has 18 cooks—half of what he normally would have.
“Workforce shortages are mostly everywhere,” he said. “It’s been a long time since we were fully staffed with 35 cooks.
“We were as far down to five cooks last year. We’re offering a $250 bonus if someone can work 20 or more hours during their first four weeks of employment with us. We’ve never done that before.”
Supply chain issues also have plagued the restaurant industry, not just with food such as chicken and other meats, but also supplies, Chamberlin said.
Plastic cups and straws also have been hard to come by because they require natural gas in their manufacturing process.
“We have vendors and suppliers we contract with,” Chamberlin said. “We can place an order and immediately get an email back of what they don’t have. Ever since COVID started, it hasn’t gotten any better.”
Meanwhile, Miller and Zulch voiced their support for restarting the Keystone XL pipeline to help the United States return to energy independence and provide oil to European countries experiencing gas shortages and high prices.
