SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Sipping tea from beer mugs with his co-workers, Kyle Bos listed the ways his life is changing.
asserted
life → sip → ways
Bos has two daughters, with a third due in January.
asserted
third → have → January
At the grocery store, five items cost as much as a full cart once did.
asserted
cart → cost → much
And on Wednesday, Bos and nearly 1,400 other people were laid off from their jobs at what had been the Navistar truck factory in southwestern Ohio.
asserted
what → lay → Ohio
The layoffs — occurring just three days before President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday at a nearby high school — were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton, Ohio, area.
asserted
layoffs → occur → area
And they are one reason why Bos, 30, plans to spend the final weeks before the November election canvassing votes for Democrats.
asserted
Bos → plan → Democrats
Asked how many times he had voted for Trump, Bos held up three tattooed fingers.
asserted
Bos → ask → fingers
But he said he’s done with the president.
asserted
he → say → president
“Something has to change politically in this country,” said Bos, a member of the United Auto Workers who identifies as a centrist.
asserted
who → have → centrist
“Seems like it just kept getting worse and worse and worse.”
asserted
it → seem → ?
Trump is campaigning in this area on Saturday
This year’s election is a test for the working-class coalition that lifted Trump into the White House and gave majorities to Republicans in the House and Senate.
asserted
that → campaign → House
The outcome will be decided in places like Dayton, which once sprouted factories because it led America in patents per capita.
asserted
it → decide → capita
The Wright brothers’ airplane, the cash register, the stepladder and the electric car starter were all invented in this city of 137,000.
asserted
airplane → invent → 137,000
Trump’s blunt talk and status as a celebrity businessman initially helped him around Dayton, where voters sensed that politics as usual had failed them.
asserted
politics → help → them
Republicans secured wins in the larger metro area, but this year, the party is vulnerable with voters who are disgruntled about inflation, the Iran war and a president who seems unsympathetic to their struggles.
asserted
who → secure → struggles
An Ohio race could help determine control of the Senate.
uncertain
race → help → Senate
Republican Sen. Jon Husted is facing a challenge from former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is trying to harness that disenchantment as he attempts a comeback two years after losing his seat.
asserted
he → face → seat
Trump’s visit to the Dayton area is part of what he says will be a 32-day marathon of rallies to try to convince the public that the economy is better than they think.
asserted
they → say → public
“All over the country, they’re building factories, plants — manufacturing’s coming back,” Trump said on Thursday at a truck plant in Texas.
asserted
Trump → build → Texas
“The only thing we’re doing badly at is public relations.”
asserted
we → do → ?
Americans increasingly blame Trump for the high cost of living with just 17% approving of his handling of the issue.
asserted
% → blame → issue
Trump has largely sneered at concerns about affordability, but he has promised to give people $5,000 checks if Republicans win the House and Senate next month — something Bos said he found offensive.
asserted
he → sneer → House
“It feels like a bribe, a slap in the face, and, like, that we’re all ignorant,” Bos said.
asserted
Bos → feel → face
When factory work moved abroad, Republicans gained traction
The Dayton area has shed about half of its 90,000 factory jobs since 1990, according to federal data, after the North American Free Trade Agreement shifted many jobs to Mexico where auto parts could be made more cheaply.
uncertain
parts → move → Mexico
That trend accelerated after China joined the World Trade Organization.
asserted
China → accelerate → Organization
As steady paychecks vanished, drug addiction and crime increased.
asserted
addiction → vanish → ?
Things seemed to hit bottom after the 2008 financial crisis, prompting Phil Plummer — who was then Montgomery County Sheriff — to enter politics.
asserted
who → seem → politics
“My jail was 40% drug addicts, 50% mental health patients, 10% criminals,” said Plummer, who has been a Republican state representative since 2019.
asserted
who → say → 2019
“We got it upside down — that’s what drove me to the state house.”
asserted
what → get → house
Plummer, the Montgomery County Republican chairman, is now on the ballot for the Ohio state Senate and stressed that Trump has been what keeps the GOP’s coalition of businesses and working-class families together.
asserted
what → stress → businesses
In recent years, the local economy has improved as the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base expanded, now directly employing 38,000 people.
asserted
Base → improve → people
The base’s innovations have attracted new aerospace companies to the area, including Joby Aviation, the Sierra Nevada Corporation and Electra.
asserted
innovations → attract → Aviation
The White House pointed to the $850 million investment by aircraft maker Electra — along with announcements in Ohio from Honda, Stellantis and others — as evidence Trump’s policies were creating jobs.
asserted
policies → point → jobs
Dayton rebounded because Republicans and Democrats alike saw the value coming out of Wright-Patterson over the past two decades, said Jeff Hoagland, CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.
asserted
Hoagland → rebound → Coalition
“In economic development, it takes time, and you have got to give it a little bit of time to bake, and then once it does, then you’re going to have something special,” Hoagland said.
asserted
Hoagland → take → something
Even as Dayton recovers, its politicians say this election is about inflation
Downtown Dayton has added lofts for housing, and the historic Dayton Arcade complex with its glass dome and mosaic-tiled floors has been renovated into shops, an art gallery and eateries.
On Monday, the gallery echoed with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and flute during a fundraiser for Rose Lounsbury, a former schoolteacher who, for the second time, is running as a Democrat for state representative.
asserted
who → recover → representative
The guests radiated optimism that Democrats might pick up a U.S. Senate seat, a governorship and enough spots in the Ohio House of Representatives to end a Republican supermajority.
uncertain
Democrats → radiate → supermajority
“There is a gap between what people want and what they feel is available,” Lounsbury said.
asserted
Lounsbury → be → what
“People don’t want to live a life of subsistence.
asserted
People → want → subsistence
They want to live the middle-class dream and they feel it’s not available like it once was.”
asserted
it → want → dream
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
