In the heart of Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, a battleground for the upcoming elections, Republican volunteers are voicing the concerns that are driving them to the polls. With the district’s reputation as a key swing area, voters are echoing sentiments of economic hardship and immigration anxieties, creating a fertile ground for GOP candidates like Derek Merrin, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur.
For lifelong Toledo resident Charlie Pengov, volunteering for Merrin, the economic woes of the nation are a primary motivator. “What really gets me motivated is sitting around hearing all this stuff that’s going on with our country, with the economy, with inflation being real bad, with our wages being eroded like 20% last four years,” Pengov told Fox News Digital. “So instead, I’ve been taught that if you have anxiety about this, these kind of things, get involved and do something.”
Pengov’s sentiments are shared by many voters in the district. Kelly, a Merrin volunteer who moved to Arizona to escape “Democrat policies”, echoes the sentiment about the economy’s impact on daily life. “For sure the economy,” Kelly told Fox News Digital. “Things like groceries, grocery prices, gas prices, housing, everything has gone up so much in the past few years and it’s just really becoming unaffordable for everyone.”
Toledo resident Patsy Grant emphasizes the dual concerns of the economy and immigration. “The economy is not affordable and this immigration thing and people are dying,” Grant said. “It’s really bad and actually, the seniors are really having a hard time right now. And I have seen it first hand with my mom and my mom is struggling with medicine. It is unaffordable. At this point, she takes diabetes medications and it is outrageous and it’s on the family if they can’t afford it. So then it puts a burden on somebody else’s financials.”
These concerns are not new, but they are resonating deeply with voters in this crucial district. Many feel that Washington is neglecting their needs while focusing on foreign aid. Pengov expresses this frustration: “But then when it comes to having money for like our cities and Springfield, you know, it seems like we just use up our citizens and kick them to the curb and hire other people to come in for lower wages. It just doesn’t seem right what we’re doing to our American citizens.”
In this environment, the belief that former President Trump is the answer to these problems is gaining momentum. Grant, a volunteer at the Lucas County GOP Headquarters, has been making calls to voters and witnessing this shift firsthand. “Talking to voters, we’re getting a lot of people that are actually voting early, which is really awesome. That’s what we encourage them to do. A lot of people are really worried about the economy, the majority’s the economy and immigration, the border. I mean, it’s just that everybody can’t afford to live and are scared to live.”
She adds, “They believe that he will bring change and end the war. I’ve had people talking about that, stating that Donald Trump is going to end that, that it wouldn’t have happened had he been president and not Biden. So I really have a lot of people that are positive. And then you also get the ones that are negative. But some of the people you can talk to and encourage them to look at the facts and not just the ads that are on TV and bashing one another. We’ve gotten good reception.”
As the election approaches, the voices of these Ohio voters will play a critical role in determining the direction of the district and potentially the entire state. With the economy and immigration topping their list of concerns, their vote will be a reflection of their desire for change and a better future.