In 2016, Vice President Joe Biden took the stage in a Parma union hall to campaign for Hillary Clinton. He dropped by Rudy鈥檚 Strudel and Bakery, known for its pastries and pierogi鈥攖he kind of retail politics rarely seen in this year鈥檚 pandemic election.
President Barack Obama had won the city twice by double digits. But that November, Donald Trump eked out a less-than-four-point win over Clinton, while falling short of an outright majority.
Parma is the seventh largest city in Ohio, with 52,000 registered voters this year. Most elected officials here are Democrats鈥攁nd many of them, like Mayor Tim DeGeeter, .
鈥淥ur voters, we have been labeled since the 80s Reagan Democrats, very moderate base here,鈥� DeGeeter told ideastream. 鈥淲hen you had the presidential election four years ago, I think some of those voters looked at President Trump and went that way, but they also swing back.鈥�
As a whole, Cuyahoga County votes reliably Democratic, but a number of predominantly white suburbs shifted politically four years ago.
and Chagrin Falls gave majorities to Clinton in 2016, despite backing Republican Mitt Romney four years earlier.
Parma, Parma Heights and Brook Park swung in the opposite direction. Although Clinton still came out ahead in the latter two cities, her margins were much tighter than Obama鈥檚 victories.
But just as Parma flipped into Trump鈥檚 column four years ago, it could flip right back this time, DeGeeter said, pointing to the 2018 election results. In the governor鈥檚 race that year, Democrat Richard Cordray won Parma by almost five points, despite losing the state. Sen. Sherrod Brown carried Parma by 17 points in his 2018 reelection bid.
Of all the Democrats who sought the 2020 presidential nomination, Biden can connect best with Parma voters, DeGeeter argued.
鈥淲ith his experience and understanding the middle class and that folks want to send their kids off to college and not be sky-high in debt, and live the American Dream,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 think that kind of resonates with our voters here in Parma.鈥�
On a fall afternoon, Kathy Parker cleaned leaves from the curb outside her house. She鈥檚 retired, receives a pension from a job at an automotive paint company and was eager to sing the president鈥檚 praises.
鈥淭o me, he can do no wrong,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 enjoy listening to him, he鈥檚 hilarious.鈥�
Parker has lived on this street for 26 years, she said. She was no fan of Obama and remains firmly in Trump鈥檚 column this year.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a genius,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淎nd he knows, he knows, he鈥檚 done so much and people don鈥檛, especially the Democrats, don鈥檛 acknowledge that, they hate him so badly. Four years that he鈥檚 been in office, they鈥檝e done nothing but try to get him out of office. Why?鈥�
Planted in the ground next to her home was a small black-and-white American flag, marked across the middle with a blue line. She said she picked it up while out looking for Trump flags and hats.
鈥淎nd I saw the Blue Lives Matter flag, and I thought, I am for the cops,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow can you want to defund the police? Who鈥檚 going to protect you?鈥�
Another Parma resident, Alex Philbin, said Trump changed the Republican Party, pushing it to embrace more restrictions on immigration, for instance.
鈥淭he issue of the wall, of immigration, H-1B visas, all that was not important to the party,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then now he鈥檚 steered it into that direction. I think that鈥檚 how he changed it.鈥�
It鈥檚 change that Philbin said he supports. He voted for Trump four years ago and backs him today, too.
鈥淗e鈥檚 probably the best American president we鈥檝e ever had in our history,鈥� Philbin said. 鈥淏ecause of his issues and stuff. Because he鈥檚 actually advocating for middle class America.鈥�
Although there are plenty of Trump yard signs across Parma, you鈥檒l see Biden signs, too. Mark Phillips suspects there are Biden supporters in town who just haven鈥檛 stuck their loyalties out on the front lawn.
鈥淚 have a Biden sign in my yard,鈥� Phillips said, 鈥渂ut there are plenty of Trump signs around here, and not just one sign. I mean there鈥檚 flags, banners.鈥�
Phillips is a schoolteacher, retired Navy officer, and a registered Republican who supports Biden. He backed Ronald Reagan and both Presidents Bush, but sees Trump as wrong for the GOP, he said.
鈥淚 just want someone in there that has high integrity,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hat is not telling lies to the public all the time, that鈥檚 not talking to the public in these big, general terms, like, Oh, everybody loves me, the way that President Trump talks.鈥�
So far, absentee ballot requests from Democrats in Parma are outpacing those by Republicans more than 2 to 1, although requests from independents outnumber them both.
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