Despite a number of contested Republican races and very little for Democrats to decide on the primary election ballot, more Democrats voted in Mahoning County than GOP voters, and Republicans didn’t outnumber Democrats in Trumbull County by much.

It’s also a huge turnaround from the 2024 primary.

But does it mean anything for the Nov. 3 general election?

Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson said it bodes well for his party’s candidates in November.

“People didn’t come to vote in the primary with only one contested race in the county to not vote in the general,” Anderson said. “Voters see incompetence by Republicans on the county level, chaos on the national level and no Republicans holding them accountable.”

Trumbull County Republican Party Chairwoman Julia Shutt said, “I wonder if it’s complacency by Republicans. We’re in the White House, and we have this kind of control. It’s not what I want to see. I want to see people motivated and participating. I’d like all Republicans to see and understand how important it is to get out to vote in the general. It’s a red flag that we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to get motivated.”

But Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Tom McCabe said his county party “has never been stronger. This is a purple county, a bellwether county. We’re far from the day when we were outnumbered 5-to-1 by Democrats. Now we’re about even. The national mood isn’t the best for Republicans, but November is a long way off. The enthusiasm gap favors the Democrats. It’s the midterms with a Republican in the White House. It’s nothing the local Democrats are doing. It doesn’t concern me for the general election.”

Back in 2008, 81,558 people voted in the Democratic primary compared to 13,234 in the Republican primary — a 6-to-1 margin.

With numerous contested Republican primary races on the ballot, Trumbull County Democratic Chairman Mark Alberini said he was surprised by the results.

He said, “I would have thought it would have been higher for the Republicans. It’s hard to say what it means. I’m not sure why it was. But I’m going to be a half-full person and say it’s an encouraging sign. We’ll see how this plays out in November, but it makes for good races. I hope it turns into a positive.”

While there were few statewide primary races for both parties — with most of them lopsided affairs except the Republican primaries for state treasurer and a state Supreme Court seat — as well as contested primaries for Congress, the only contested countywide race in Trumbull was for state central committeeman.

On the Republican side, there were contested races for county commissioner, auditor and three judicial positions.

Yet 15,698 people voted in the Republican primary compared to 14,933 Democrats — a difference of only 765 more Republicans.

In Mahoning County, 20,168 Democrats voted in Tuesday’s primary compared to 18,082 Republicans even though the GOP had contested races for county commissioner and four judicial seats while Democrats had a primary for an Ohio House seat that takes in about 55% of the county. Both parties also had contested primaries for two congressional seats, though they were largely uncompetitive.

During the 2022 and 2024 primaries, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in both counties.

In Mahoning in the 2022 primary, 20,995 Republicans voted to 16,299 Democrats. In 2024, 22,253 Republicans voted to 15,180 Democrats.

In Trumbull in the 2022 primary, 17,855 Republicans voted to 16,858 Democrats. In 2024, 21,139 Republicans voted to 15,718 Democrats.

Before Republican Donald Trump first ran in 2016 for president, Mahoning and Trumbull counties were considered Democratic strongholds. Since then, Republicans have made significant gains in both counties.

Most countywide officials in Trumbull are Republicans and six of the 11 elected executive branch officials in Mahoning are Republicans.

In the 2012 primary in Mahoning, 33,593 voted Democratic compared to 15,278 Republican. In the 2012 primary in Trumbull, 20,787 Democrats and 15,571 Republicans voted.

McCabe said right now and even after the November election, Mahoning is and will continue to be represented by Republicans in Congress (two members), the state Senate and one representative in the Ohio House.

“We still control the Valley at the state and national level and have made significant inroads at the county level that haven’t been seen in decades,” McCabe said. “That’s not going to change.”

Anderson countered that he fielded calls and received text messages all day Tuesday from people who told him they could no longer vote Republican.

Anderson said, “Mahoning County residents were sold a false bill of goods, and they know it. They were promised lower costs and got increased costs. They were promised good governance and got chaos and incompetence. They were promised no more wars, and they got $5-a-gallon gas and war in Iran. They got conned by a con man (Trump) and they’re holding his enablers accountable. All the Republican candidates on the ballot say they unequivocally support the chaos in D.C. Those who voted Democrat, welcome home.”

Alberini said, “I think it’s encouraging. It could be an indicator of buyer’s remorse that promises were not kept and people are second-guessing their previous votes. There will be contested races in November and we will hold candidates’ feet to the fire.”

Shutt said that with barely any Democrats in contested primaries Tuesday, it’s possible that Republicans stayed home “wondering if the battle’s already won. Maybe they thought there was no one running against the Republicans, so why vote? It has something to do with being motivated about the party. Democrats just show up. We need to strengthen the GOP’s image, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

All of the chairs, who are up for reelection shortly after the primary results are certified, said they plan to run for another term.