It could be said that Ottawa County is one of the top bellwether counties in Ohio, if not the country. Nestled along Lake Erie in the northwest of the state between Toledo and Cleveland, the area has a population of 40,364, according to the 2020 Census. Ottawa County is on the doorstep of a Democratic stronghold, about 35 miles east of Toledo in neighboring Wood County. However, the political viewpoints of its residents are mixed as they have become more wary and leery of the government. They mostly favor who they believe would be best suited to tackle the issues at hand. The registered Republican voters (8,455) outnumber the registered Democrats (6,731) in Ottawa County. Many of its residents include farmers, retirees who love to fish, and more than 3,300 military veterans. Given the global context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they believe higher gas prices and inflation is coming, …