Cuyahoga County Dems flex electoral muscle in historic midterm
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Cuyahoga County Democrats are celebrating a historic midterm election, notching victories up and down the ballot and the highest local midterm turnout this century.
Why it matters: Cuyahoga County still has electoral muscle.
What they're saying: "I think Democrats worked harder and smarter than Republicans," Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair Dave Brock told Axios on election night.
- Brock touted a ground operation that knocked on more doors and deployed more Election Day volunteers than in 2024.
By the numbers: Cuyahoga County's unofficial voter turnout reached 54.9%, its highest midterm rate since at least 1998, Signal Cleveland reports.
- Only twice in that period has midterm turnout exceeded 50%: 2018 and 2026, both during Trump presidencies.
- Around 482,000 ballots had been counted as of noon Thursday, with roughly 11,800 provisional and overseas ballots outstanding.
The big picture: Brock credited opposition to Trump for energizing voters, but said the party's local organizing infrastructure was equally important.
Zoom in: Democrats coordinated campaign efforts across multiple suburban districts, for example.
- In the southwestern suburbs, mailers promoted Brian Poindexter (Congress), Courtney Scheff (County Council) and Megan Coy (Ohio House) as a package deal, Brock said.
- All three defeated Republican incumbents Tuesday.
Between the lines: "If we've got people in Strongsville and North Royalton voting for Sherrod [Brown] and Amy [Acton], we knew they had a shot," Brock said.
- "Courtney is as capable, intelligent and passionate as any Democrat in this county," he added. "She's the opposite of Trump."
What's next: Brock is already recruiting candidates for next year's municipal elections and organizing county Democratic chairs to press elected officials on their priorities.
- "Now we have to hold Democrats accountable," he said. "We have to tell them what we want and what we expect of them."