UPDATED with new results for Summit Council District 7 and local school issues

11:53 p.m. Clinton and Kasich the big winners in Ohio; Ted Strickland swamped P.G. Sittenfeld for the U.S. Senate to go up against incumbent Rob Portman in the general election. David Joyce mauled Matt Lynch in the 14th District Congressional GOP race and the incumbent will face Michael Wager in November.

In the only contested statewide Supreme Court race Pat Fischer won the GOP primary against Colleen Mary O'Toole. He will face John O'Donnell.

Locally, Summit County District 5 Democrat Tamela Lee failed in her bid for re-election while under indictment for corruption. David Hamilton won the race over DeAndre Fourney. In District 1 an upset in the northern Summit County area where longtime County Council's Nick Kostandaras fell to Rita Darrow for the Democratic nomination. Tim Crawford pulled out a last-minute comback in the Council District 7 Democratic race, beating Nolan James by 194 votes.

In other local contested races 38th District State Representative Judith Lynn Lee beat Matt Browarek for the Democrats.

In local levies Norton's twin school issues both lost; Green's renewal emergency levy won. Manchester's bond issue lost by 85 votes. Springfield's renewal emergency levy narrowly lost by only 44 votes. The Cuyahoga Falls levy renewal passed easily.

Results below are Summit County only:

CLICK HERE for the direct Summit County Board of Elections results page for Tuesday, March 15, 2016. 1590 WAKR will have broadcast updates during tonight's University of Akron-Ohio State University NIT game with full coverage immediately following the basketball game. You can also follow our reporting on @1590WAKRNews on Twitter and 1590 WAKR on Facebook. This page will be refreshed throughout the day with reports and updated.

9:57 p.m. It's over at least as far as Ohio's presidential sweepstakes; native son John Kasich claims all 66 GOP Delegates in the state hosting the Republican convention. From here on it'll be Kasich, Trump and Cruz. Hillary Clinton takes Ohio's Democrats.

Former Governor and Congressman Ted Strickland wins the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate, and will take on incumbent Republican Rob Portman. All local incumbent Congress reps sailed to wins; Fudge, Renacci and Ryan either unopposed or with token opposition. In the 14th District incumbent Republican David Joyce wins over Matt Lynch.

Only one Supreme Court nomination, among Republicans, contested. Pat Fisher is leading Colleen Mary O'Toole.

Akron's charter issues both easy winners; early results in Norton's school levies show both losing, Springfield still too close but losing and the others still waiting for results.

Summit County District 5 race the indicted incumbent Tamela Lee a big loser with half the vote in, David Hamilton a tightening race against DeAndre Fourney.

- - -

9:22 p.m. This may be a very early night; John Kasich taking Ohio's 66 GOP votes and making Donald Trump wait, even as Trump won Florida and Rubio bowed out. Hillary Clinton takes Ohio for the Democrats.

In the other federal races of interest U.S. Senate democrats going for Ted Strickland in big way, nearly 3-1 over PG Sittenfeld. In the contested GOP Primary for 14th District Congress incumbent David Joyce rolling over Tea Party favorite Matt Lynch with a commanding more than 2-1 lead. The lone contested statewide judicial primary has Fischer over O'Toole for Supreme Court among the Republicans, 20% of precincts reporting.

Akron's charter issues winning; still too early for local school issues and levies.

Local results starting to work their way out of the Board of Elections, and in that Summit County District 5 race the indicted incumbent Tamela Lee a big loser with half the vote in, David Hamilton leading DeAndre Fourney.

- - -

8:57 p.m. Ohio went for Hillary Clinton -- she's the projected winner for Ohio, maintaining a more than 2-1 win over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Among the Republican John Kasich still holds a lead over Donald Trump and some media groups are projecting Kasich the winner here in Ohio.

Already the "we won" emails going out; Democrat Tim Ryan's campaign forwarding a "we did it" email to supporters just aftyer 8:00 for his district covering mostly Youngstown but also reaching into Akron. The race for the 14th District race between Republicans David Joyce, the incumbent, and Matt Lynch is one that's been contentious. 

In Summit County absentee voting in the Summit District 5 council race Tamela Lee far behind in the counting of early and absentee votes.

8:08 p.m. The results statewide show John Kasich with a 44% tally, a lead over Donald Trump's 32% but those are still very early numbers. Hillary Clinton has an early lead in first results, double over Bernie Sanders.

- - -

7:30 p.m. Polls are closed although those voters in line still have time to vote. We'll post results as soon as they are available.

- - -

6:41 p.m. No major problems other than one of the worst things that can happen in the electronics-heavy counting of votes -- a power outage. A blown utility transformer will be repaired after tonight's vote-counting at the Summit County Board of Elections at 500 Grant Street. Operations are running smoothly thanks to a transformer, which has been in use all day. Voters in-line at 7:30 p.m. can cast their ballots but those not in line when the doors closed will find it's too late. Voter turnout has been described as moderate to heavy; expect the first results shortly after the polls close at 7:30 as early and absentee ballots already received will be sent through computers doing the counting, with the rest of the night's results depending on when precincts are fully closed, ballot machines are secured and results are physically delivered to the Board of Elections. That process usually takes about 90 minutes to two hours depending on how far away local precincts are; the farthest, in northern Summit County's GOP-rich Sagamore Hills, Twinsburg, Macedonia, Northfield Center, Northfield Village and Reminderville are generally the last to be delivered.

- - -

10:49 a.m. Polls have been open on this 2016 Primary Election Day for a little more than four hours, but the reality is more than 400,000 voters already voted in Ohio's primaries. Voting in both the Democratic and Republican primaries is based on party identification expressed when voters went to the Board of Elections for early voting, requested a mail-in ballot or are present for today's voting with polling places open until 7:30 p.m. tonight. Independent voters can cast ballots for non-partisan issues but cannot vote for the partisan candidates on the ballot without declaring a party.

CBS National Election Coverage -

- - -

(Canton Repository Robert Wang) Michelle Snook suffered a devastating layoff from her job in 2011, believes she has not been hired due to age discrimination and has worked a series of short, temporary jobs that paid low wages as the cost of living has risen.

With only about $91 a week from a part-time cleaning job, Snook, 60, is now living with a friend in Osnaburg Township and can't afford to rent her own apartment.
Amid her anger and frustration, Snook, a former supporter of President Barack Obama, said she has narrowed her choice for president in the March 15th primary to two candidates.

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

Sanders, who's seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, "seems to be a people person, and he's all about trying to get businesses to stay in America," said Snook, who supports his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy because "if they've got the money, they can help pay just as much as we have to pay."
Snook said she hopes Trump, who's seeking the Republican nomination, can fulfill his promise to bring jobs back to America and make Apple manufacture iPhones in the U.S.

"People have become so sensitive (about) people speaking their minds and him, he's not. He tells it like it is," said Snook. "He's just very outspoken, and he's not a politician but he's a businessman, and I think that's what we need now."

Snook is one of many voters in Ohio fed up by stagnant wages and the disappearance of local blue-collar jobs during the past decade who are drawn to anti-establishment presidential candidates.

According to the U.S. Census' survey between 2010 and 2014, Stark County households' median income, adjusted for inflation, declined more than 18 percent since 1999. The median household income dropped $10,313 in that 15-year period. That 18 percent decline is worse than the state's 16 percent drop, and is nearly double the national percentage.

Neighboring Carroll and Tuscarawas counties had a decline in median household income of roughly 10 to 12 percent. The declines were not as sharp as in Stark County, perhaps because they had fewer jobs to lose than more highly populated Stark County and because of the development of the fledgling oil and gas hydraulic fracturing business.

Jack DeSario, a political consultant and political science professor at the University of Mount Union, said the perception of a declining standard of living is sparking significant anti-establishment sentiment in favor of Sanders and Trump.

"This is the ultimate way to say 'screw you,' to the political process," he said.

Laid Off

Snook is a divorced mother of four. She said she never received her diploma from McKinley High School because she got pregnant with her first child. She said she was laid off from her job making signs for LSI Graphics Solutions in Lake Township in 2011. She said she worked there six years, starting at $7.50 an hour and eventually getting $9.50 an hour.

"I went into deep depression after that," she said.

Snook's job was among the thousands of jobs in the area that evaporated between 2000 and 2015.

In 2000, Stark County had 178,426 jobs covered by unemployment insurance, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2010, that number declined 16 percent to 149,684 jobs. The county lost 18,575 jobs since 2000, sixth-most in the state. Nearly all of the losses came from a 34 percent plummet in the number of goods-producing jobs from nearly 53,000 jobs to about 35,000 in 15 years.

After being laid off, Snook spent years getting low-paying jobs through temporary agencies. She worked in factories and farms. She laid roofs on buildings. None of the jobs lasted more than three months.

"I don't get to go shopping or do (anything). I live literally paycheck to paycheck. I've sold a lot of things in order to survive," Snook said. "The heating prices have gone up. Electric's gone up. Food has gone up. You keep raising stuff and people just don't have it to spend."

Snook, who ran unsuccessfully to be the Canton Ward 3 councilwoman as a Democrat in 1993, said she voted in 2008 for Obama "because he sounded good." She said that while she still likes him personally, she's disappointed in Obamacare. She said even with federal subsidies, the lowest premium she could find was $76 a month, which she can't afford.

Snook has ruled out supporting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton because she believes she is somewhat responsible for the deadly terrorist attacks against the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2012.

"I don't trust she's going to do what needs to be done. I think she's all talk," Snook said.

She said politicians "need to stop pampering the billionaires and millionaires. Start making them pay the taxes like we have to pay taxes. They need to listen to everybody. ... They need to stop letting our businesses go to our foreign countries. They're so concerned about the foreign countries, they're forgetting about the people in America. What about us?"

She's also receptive to Trump's promise to reduce the number of illegal immigrants here. While she said she has mixed feelings and wants everyone to succeed, she's concerned some immigrants could be terrorists or competing with her for work.

Snook said she's furious at both Republicans and Democrats.

"They fight. They can't agree on nothing. Ever since Obama took office, there's been nothing but bickering back and forth," she said.

Not in Trump's Orbit

However, other local voters facing economic stress are resistant to Trump's appeal.

Shawn Daum, 36, of Plain Township is a bus driver for the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, and president of the union that represents most of the employees.
He said he started at SARTA 10 years ago, earning about $15 an hour. After a decade of annual raises of 1 to 2 percent from SARTA, he now earns $17.56 an hour. (Daum stressed that he's not criticizing SARTA, with which the union is in negotiations with on a new contract).

His wife was laid off around 2008 from a job selling home warranties. She was out of work for more than two years before she worked as a coffee shop barista, and then she became an office manager at a massage therapy clinic in Hartville, he said. They have a daughter and son.

Grocery store visits cost $60 to $70 a decade ago, he said. Now it's $70 to $90. Rent is $100 more a month than five years ago. Utilities have skyrocketed.

Daum said the family hasn't had a vacation in three years. They've cut back on going out to dinner and movies. And they have to carry a balance on their credit cards.

He said he will support the Democratic presidential nominee because he's concerned the nomination of a conservative Supreme Court justice by a Republican president could result in the court eliminating unions' ability to impose fair-share fees on non-union employees.

Sanders' message about income inequality speaks to Daum.

"I'm leaning toward Bernie Sanders at this particular point, just to wait and see what happens with Hillary and her email fiasco," he said.

Different Considerations

Kathy Lopez, 47, of Plain Township said she was laid off in August from her job as an office manager with Nationwide Insurance's Canton office, which will be closed. She's close to completing her master's degree after getting a business degree from Walsh University in 2013. Still, she's had a difficult time finding work because she feels employers prefer younger workers and they've told her she's overqualified.

Before her layoff, she said whatever raises she got were offset by increases in her health insurance premiums, in addition to grocery costs and her student loans.
Despite her situation, she said, the economy will play no role in how she votes for president.

"Companies do what they want. Even as a president, you can't control decisions companies make," she said, adding that technology has replaced many workers. "(Politicians) don't control the wages an employer will pay their people. They don't control who they hire, how many they will hire or whatever."

She's concerned about Medicare and Social Security, the country's campaign against Islamic State, school funding and health care.

"I want to be able to know that when it's my time to retire ... I'm going to get a Social Security check, and I will be able to get Medicare, or will I have to work until I'm 85?"

Lopez said she will vote for Clinton over Sanders in the Democratic primary because "I just don't believe he can make it happen" when it comes to addressing income equality and "she is very down to earth. She doesn't see herself as better than you and I, and she does not come out saying derogatory negative things about others the way Trump has."

Lopez, whose father was from Mexico, said she is offended at Trump's comments about Mexicans, Muslims and immigrants and that "he's going to say what people want to hear. ... I don't believe anything he says."

However, in a general election, Lopez would consider Gov. John Kasich if he were somehow to become the Republican presidential nominee because "he's very direct, and he does try very hard to help the people in Ohio."

But Trump's message of "Making America Great Again," resonates with Snook.

"Things were simpler. You could afford to take your kids out to do things, and people weren't so angry," Snook said about the 1980s and 1990s. "I would like to see America be great again. I miss it."

Reach Robert at 330-580-8327 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. On Twitter: @rwangREP

This project examining the direction of Ohio’s economy was produced by Ohio  news organizations that have joined together to deliver stories that citizens identify as most important to their lives in 2016. More  than  30  newspapers,  radio  and  television  stations  agreed  in  December  to  cover  the presidential  election  in  a  way  that  best  represents  the  concerns  of  Ohioans,  and  holds  candidates accountable to those concerns.

1590 WAKR, The Toledo Blade and other news organizations in Ohio are part of a collaborative effort to share stories and information leading up to the 2016 primary and general elections. In this report, Tom Troy of the Toledo Blade reached out to the various Presidential campaigns with a series of questions relating to Ohio's economy. This report contains the responses from those who answered his query.

LINK Troy's full report "Kasich, Sanders, Rubio offer ideas for Ohio's economic conceerns" 

- - -

(Toledo Blade) Two candidates responded by the deadline – Sanders and Rubio. Kasich responded in writing a day later, but not to the question, and also asked for a conversation on the phone with the reporter, Tom Troy at The Blade.

Troy’s letter to candidates:

Dear Candidate:

The Ohio Newspaper Organization is preparing a package of stories about the Ohio economy for use in member newspaper, radio and television reporters this coming weekend, March 5 

This email is to invite you to comment. The deadline is noon on Thursday. The responses will be made available to our member organizations, which are the Akron Beacon journal, The (Dayton) Daily News, The (Cincinnati) Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, The Canton Repository and The (Toledo) Blade newspapers, Ohio Public Radio, and television stations in Dayton and Columbus. These new organizations cover communities with population of about 8 million people.

The findings that we will report show that:

• Ohio is down more than 250,000 jobs since 2000 and still down nearly 80,000 since 2007.

• In 2000, Ohio ranked 19^th in the nation for median household income, and today is 35^th, making the second-biggest drop in the nation.

• Our biggest workforce loss has been in the goods-producing sector, which also was our highest paying sector.

• Polls show the economy is the No. 1 issue for Ohio voters. 

Please say how you propose to shape U.S. policy to bring back to Ohio high-paying jobs that will restore economic security. You may include in your answer what you think are the reasons for the decline in median income in Ohio. In addition to whatever industrial or trade policies you think relevant, you may also address those issues that you think are relevant to economic security, such as tax policy, health care affordability, education, labor policy, international trade agreements and regulation. We ask that you provide us detailed policy analysis as possible.

Thank you,

Tom Troy,

Politics Writer, The Blade

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida:

The economy is the #1 issue for Ohio voters, and for good reason: employment, wages, and median incomes have fallen, while the costs of health care, education, and living expenses have gone up. To reverse these trends, we need a president who not only understands the challenges of the 21st century economy, but a president with a comprehensive plan to address them.

It is impossible to address Ohio’s economy without discussing manufacturing. Over the last two decades, technological advancements have led to machines replacing workers; globalization has led to factories moving overseas; and the rise of information technology has led to a shift in demand away from producing products and toward performing services. No one knows these fundamental changes better than Ohio workers.

The future of manufacturing – and the Ohio communities that depends on it -can be very bright. But to make it so, we have to embrace the economic changes of our time – something few in Washington seem willing to do. 

We can start by revolutionizing higher education and skills training. We rely on a higher education system that looks down its nose at skilled trades. It tells our kids that if they grow up to work with their hands instead of a computer they’re somehow less accomplished. I promise you this: I will be the vocational education president. I will make skills training more widespread, more accessible, and more affordable. I’ll expand apprenticeships so education can come out of the classroom and into the real world. I’ll allow students to begin learning a trade as early as high school, so they can graduate ready to enter a good paying career without taking on mountains of student debt.

For example, I’ll help establish more programs like the one in Cleveland where high schoolers can work at GE’s manufacturing plant to gain practical experience and mentoring. The graduation rate for these students is 95 percent, compared to just 60 percent for Cleveland public schools.

We must equip today’s workers to fill today’s manufacturing jobs, but we also need to ensure new manufacturing jobs are created tomorrow. We can’t do that unless and until we fundamentally reform our tax code. Large companies in Ohio typically pay the corporate tax rate, which at a combined rate of 39.2% puts our companies at a significant disadvantage with our global competitors. My tax plan cuts taxes for all businesses to 25%, which will benefit not only larger companies, but the small businesses that employ over 2 million workers in Ohio. My plan also allows businesses to immediately expense every dollar they invest in the economy, helping them expand. For middle-class families, the plan creates a $2,500 Child Tax Credit to ease the costs of raising children in the 21^st century. According to nonpartisan estimates, my plan will create millions of jobs, result in a massive increase in investment, and boost after-tax income for all Americans.

We also need a regulatory environment that allows Ohio businesses to prosper without unnecessary mandates from Washington. Rules like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan will result in massive energy cost spikes and have a disproportionate impact on Ohio manufacturers. One estimate from the National Association of Manufacturers found the annual cost of federal regulations to be over $2 trillion. We all want our air and water to be clean, but in many ways, President Obama has used his regulatory agencies to pursue an ideological agenda instead of one focused on keeping us safe. I have proposed enacting a National Regulatory Budget, which lets Congress put an annual cap on federal regulations so that agencies like the EPA cannot operate without checks and balances.

Energy production is a bright spot in Ohio’s economy, and I strongly believe we need to fully utilize all of our energy resources, including coal, natural gas, and renewables. When I released my comprehensive energy plan in Salem, Ohio, I laid out three guiding principles: optimize our resources, minimize government bureaucracy, and maximize private sector innovation. My plan will increase domestic production of energy both onshore and offshore, approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, and increase exports of natural gas. It will stop harmful regulations like new rules designed to impede hydraulic fracturing, and it will modernize our outdated education system to encourage high-paying jobs of the future. When I am president, we will not have a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax, which would hammer Ohio’s economy.

Education, tax, and regulatory reform will provide a huge boost to Ohio’s economy and increase prosperity for all. There are many other issues that must be addressed. Obamacare is raising costs and hurting the ability of employers to hire. That’s why I have put forward a consumer-centered alternative that provides individuals with a refundable tax credit to purchase health insurance if they do not receive it from their employer. I am strong proponent of free trade, but trade deals must be fair to American workers. And I believe our labor laws must reflect the economy of the rapidly changing economy and provide flexibility to workers.

Ohio has felt the impact of our struggling economy firsthand, but it is not too late to restore prosperity here and across the nation. To do so, we need a change of course from the failed policies of the last seven years. As president, I am committed to pursuing a pro-growth platform that will create jobs, boost wages, and make America the most innovation and business-friendly country in the world. If we do these things, we can make the 21^st century a New American Century.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont

“There is no doubt in my mind that the devastating loss of jobs and income in Ohio over the past fifteen years is due in large part to our failed trade policies. These bad trade deals, like NAFTA, CAFTA, and PNTR with China, have destroyed good-paying manufacturing jobs in Ohio by incentivizing companies to ship jobs overseas. I have consistently opposed these bad trade deals in Congress. As President, I will work to reverse these trade agreements that have proven so costly to Ohio workers.

Adding to the burden of lost jobs and reduced income is the high cost of health care in this country. I am proposing a Medicare-for-All plan that will guarantee health coverage for all Americans, and lower the costs of healthcare for both individuals and businesses. This would provide an important measure of economic security for Ohio families.

While Ohio families have seen their median incomes fall, they have also had to worry about the rising cost of sending their kids to college. I am proposing a plan that will allow every American who studies hard in school to go to college regardless of how much money their parents make and without going deeply into debt. My plan will make tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout the United States. Ohio, with its many fine public colleges and universities, will benefit from a workforce that is not constrained by the high price of a great education.

Finally, to create more jobs in Ohio and across the country, I am proposing a jobs program that would put 13 million Americans back to work by investing $1 trillion in modernizing our infrastructure.”

Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio

The John Kasich campaign responded a day late, and framed the answer around his term as governor. The Kasich campaign spokesman also asked for time on the phone with the reporter.

Job Creation

Ohioans have created 400,700 new private sector jobs since January 2011. That ranks Ohio 8^th among all states for total private sector job creation, up from 47^th over the previous four years. Currently, there are 4.7 million Ohioans with a private sector job; putting Ohio more than 65,000 jobs over the November 2007 pre-recession level.

Per the BLS CES Survey, from 1990-2010 Ohio ranked 46th in private sector job growth rate. This ranking emphasizes the historical disadvantage dealt John Kasich when he came into office in January 2011. In an effort to disrupt and improve upon this two-decades long trend, John Kasich worked to improve the environment for job creation by cutting unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape, privatizing economic development, getting the state budget under control and cutting taxes by more than any sitting governor. In response, Ohio's private sector job creation growth rate ranking has skyrocketed 24 places to 22nd from January 2011 to December 2015. That is a stronger improvement than all but three states. 

Finally, since 2010 Ohio’s ranking in Forbes' Best States for Business study showed the Buckeye State improved from 38 to 15. That is the largest jump of all states from 2010-2015. Ohio scored its highest marks for its regulatory environment (No. 5 in the U.S.) and its quality of life. Source: Dayton Business Journal

Real Median Household Income

https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=3Eb8

Goods Producing Jobs

According to BLS data, goods producing jobs in Ohio shrank by 35.4% from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, those jobs have grown by 89,600, or 11.1%. By comparison, from 2010 to 2015, good producing jobs nationwide have increased by 10.6%. 

This project examining the direction of Ohio’s economy was produced by Ohio  news organizations that have joined together to deliver stories that citizens identify as most important to their lives in 2016. More  than  30  newspapers,  radio  and  television  stations  agreed  in  December  to  cover  the presidential  election  in  a  way  that  best  represents  the  concerns  of  Ohioans,  and  holds  candidates accountable to those concerns.

For politicians who want to win, polls can hold valuable information. But some of the latest polling on politics shows a trend any politician would do well to fear: we are simply fed up with how far down the process seems to have fallen.

The Rubber City Radio Group is part of a statewide consortium of media outlets including the Akron Beacon Journal, Canton Repository, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio Public Radio and Television, the Ohio Newspapers Association, Ohio Association of Broadcasters and other organizations forging a rare alliance in a bid to focus attention on issues facing Ohio voters leading up to the 2016 Presidential primary and general elections. 1590 WAKR and WAKR.net is owned by Rubber City Radio Group.

As part of the coaltion, we've agreed to directly share, with attribution, stories and features on substantive issues regarding the political process and specifically those issues important to Ohio voters focused on the Presidential contests. Such partnerships are not unusual; WAKR and the Beacon Journal, for example, collaborated on a series of video interviews of local County Council candidates in the past and have also worked together on forums and town hall-style meetings.

This is the first of a series of reports planned throughout the year, and features poll results from a survey from the University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. The Beacon Journal has been at the forefront of an effort to encourage more civility in public discourse in conjunction with The Jefferson Foundation 

(Akron Beacon Journal) As she realized what she had in her hands, Andrea Barnes' eyes lit up like she was holding toxicity.

"It's not that Glenn Beck," she said of the author's name on the book.

But, as she turned to the inside jacket cover and saw a portrait of the polarizing, conservative radio and talk show host, she knew otherwise.

"Oh," she said.

Barnes, 44, likens Beck to Rush Limbaugh, another divisive commentator.

"Anger. Everybody is so angry. I guess that leads into fear," she said, referring to the rise of unconventional presidential candidates who rally worried voters by identifying and denigrating a perceived enemy. Preferring that opposing views be respected and not indiscriminately rejected, Barnes took a few minutes to reflect on the state of politics then slipped the book back on a shelf at the Cuyahoga Falls Public Library. "If we're going to solve any problems, we have to have civil discourse and be tolerant of others," Barnes said, feeling better to have released some of her own frustration.

Call it fear. Call it anger. Call it discontent.

As Americans grow unusually interested in a presidential election that is a year away, they come to the party with an unusually high level of disgust, according to a recent poll by the Ray C. Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron. Asked in November to rank their satisfaction with American politics on a scale of one (utter disgust) to 10 (complete satisfaction), 24 percent of Ohioans picked the number one.

The worst.

The bottom.

Only 1 percent picked the highest satisfaction rating of 10.

It was that lopsided.

The poll on political approval found a majority of Ohioans are disgusted, to some degree. What's acutely noticeable is that the response rate for those with absolute disgust (that bottom rating of one) has tripled since 2008.

Is Trump a sign?

The results leave Bliss director John Green contemplating whether Donald Trump is the man of the hour or a sign of the times. His provocations seem to boost his ratings, but for which reason? "It could very well be that when we look back, we'll say, 'well, Trump was a very unique person'," Green said. "But, when I look at it I see that whatever uniqueness he may have in his background, he does sort of capture a lot of the trends in media and the decline of civility and the rise of an adversarial culture that many of us have been talking about for a couple decades."

"And that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Bliss surveyed 600 registered Ohio voters after the November election to find that 57 percent give American politics a negative score, up sharply from 22 percent in 2008. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error. When the poll was done in 2008, the economy had not yet fallen off the cliff and a nation weary of war was watching exciting presidential campaigns begin to solidify. War hero and elder statesman Sen. John McCain had locked up the Republican nomination and Democrats were weighing two historic candidates: An African American and a woman. 

Green noted a groundswell of "hope and change" from both parties at that time.

Could it get worse?

There's much debate about the effects of negative advertising on the emotions of voters, but campaigns increasingly attack opponents because they believe it works. Research shows that campaign advertising hit an all-time high in the 2012 race, and negative ads accounted for more than 60 percent of the air time, also an all-time high. Already in Ohio, a powerful swing state in presidential elections, negative ads have been aired on prime-time television against Hillary Clinton a half year before the Ohio Primary Election and a year before the general.

The question is, does that kind of activity give rise to more angst among voters?

In Ohio, according to an analysis of the Bliss poll, voters most dissatisfied with American politics are more likely to be among these groups: young; white; men; without advanced college degrees; residents of southeast Ohio; regularly attend church; or are more concerned with terrorism, immigration and abortion than the economy or climate change. National polling by the Pew Research Center suggests Republican candidates (reinforced by debates that have broken records for cable viewers) are hitting a sweet spot with angry voters by pounding issues such as national security.

But playing to disgruntled voters has the added effect of souring others.

"The problem is you have so many big issues facing the country in terms of the economy and social issues, but everybody is hung up on the idea of Muslim terrorism and whether we should allow Syrian refugees into the country," said Brian Baker, a 29-year-old chef in Cuyahoga Falls.

Baker rates his satisfaction in American politics a miserable two out of 10 partly because candidates dwell on issues that don't appeal to his more liberal leanings. More importantly, though, he said the issues are blown out of proportion. "They're nice things to talk about but they don't really affect us greatly," said Baker, whose never voted in a presidential election when American troops weren't fighting terrorism.

Baker wouldn't be upset if Gov. John Kasich's message of compassionate conservatism prevailed. But Kasich, too, has called for a pause on some immigration amid fears of terrorism, a move Baker can't condone. 

The young man prefers candidates who address starvation, homelessness or even Planned Parenthood. All, he said, are more manageable than the thoughts of a fanatic who might want to sneak in and hurt America.

In whom can we trust

General disapproval of politics is hurting legacy candidates. Disgusted voters prefer private-sector, anti-establishment newcomers who are believed to be better at understanding ordinary people (even more so than being honest), the UA poll found.

"It is disturbing because it suggests the levels of distrust are so high that voters are unwilling to trust anybody very much," Green said. "They just want someone who is outside the system."

With unemployment rates approaching pre-recession levels, disgusted voters have shifted their attention away from the economy and toward more controversial issues, among them abortion, same-sex marriage, immigration and national security.

The Ohio data mirror a national shift, with the spotlight apparently guided by an angry hand and a souring public opinion of the federal government.

An ongoing survey by the Pew Research Center shows Americans now hold the lowest opinion of the federal government's ability to thwart terrorism since 9/11. Yet, Americans most often say Uncle Sam's top job is keeping them safe. And on immigration, they say the feds do worst. The research also indicates Americans consider the GOP better suited to deal with terrorism and immigration, the only two issues Republican respondents told Pew they would like the federal government more involved in.

Hope and despair

Millennials, ages 18 to 34, are simultaneously the most satisfied, disgusted, opinionated and indifferent voters represented in the Bliss poll.

The youngest (ages 18 to 24) were the most likely to take a neutral position on politics in the poll. The older portion — idealistic, fresh out of college or launching a career — flowed to opposite ends of the spectrum with the highest rates of satisfaction (20.3 percent) and dissatisfaction (62.3 percent), and the lowest neutrality.

With age, the level of dissatisfaction waned. Ohio voters in every older generation consistently moved toward a neutral position on satisfaction. Baby boomers, the second largest generation behind millennials, voiced less disapproval than all but the youngest first- or second-time voters.

Research shows millennials vote less often than prior generations. They're also distrustful of government and the least likely to affiliate with conventional political parties. Couple these suspicions with gridlock in Congress and fighting on the campaign trail and what you get, Green says, is "a recipe for a great deal of dissatisfaction."

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow on Twitter: @DougLivingstonABJ.