WARREN, Ohio — Alton Merrell uses two words to describe Warren, Ohio.
“We’re poor.”
Sitting on the front steps of his home in the late afternoon heat, Merrell can see Warren’s reality every time he drives home.
“This is the west side. There’s hardly any businesses over here.”
Closed and boarded up shops and empty parking lots line the streets near his house.
At the beginning of July, more than 570 unemployment claims were made in Trumbull County. That monthly figure drives the total number of people needing help in the county to 24,354.
He’s been in the county most of his life. A former teacher, Merrell watched as major employers closed their doors.
"That was a migration. You have 10,000 people working at General Motors and they close,” he said. “Then you had Delphi Packard, years ago, they had 10,000 people. You had CopperWeld Steel Mill close. You had Republic Steel Mill close. Those were the blue-collar jobs."
With the job loss, Merrell said Warren hasn’t rebounded.
Numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau paint a similar picture. Data from the agency shows more than 12,000 people have left the city since 1990.
For Merrell, change starts at the ballot box.
"Biden. For real,” he said about who he is voting for in November. “He's the safe choice."
In the 2020 primary, 23,842 Democrats cast ballots and 12,443 Republicans.
"Well, you know, love me - don't hate me - I always vote Republican,” Rebecca Morse said.
She was finishing her lunch in Warren’s town square.
Morse said she was happy with life in Warren.
“I really like the town the city of Warren itself and we're really just trying to be positive people,” she said. “And have a positive attitude. And, you know, we try to encourage each other."
For Morse, that sense of community and shared ideals is why she’ll stick with her party in November.
"Perfect 10 in the perfect 10,” she said about casting a GOP vote.
