Despite controlling a large majority of elected offices, the Democratic Party brand in Mahoning and Trumbull counties isn’t what it used to be.

A few decades ago, countywide Democrats were getting at least 65 to 70 percent of the vote, and it was a bad sign for statewide and presidential candidates to come out of the area with only 60 percent.

Other former industrial counties further south — particularly Jefferson and Belmont — that were once reliably blue have become solid Republican areas. Columbiana, which used to be a toss-up, now is a strong GOP county.

The changes in Mahoning and Trumbull have been slower. But both are trending Republican, caused by the success of Donald Trump and his coattails as well as the area’s declining population and a decrease in good-paying union jobs.

There’s also an enthusiasm gap.

We’ve seen it statewide for decades with Republicans controlling every branch of Ohio’s government.

That gap is evident in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, which have been Democratic strongholds since 1936.

Republicans, particularly in Mahoning, hold numerous well-attended fundraisers and collect a lot of money that is used to help their candidates. Republicans also hold lunches, meetings and other activities to keep people interested and engaged.

Democrats for the past few years have been virtually invisible when it comes to that. They rarely meet, and when they do, it largely is to conduct business. Fundraising for the parties in both counties is virtually nonexistent.

The party still controls every executive branch position in both counties except one: auditor in Mahoning and a commissioner seat in Trumbull.

But the margins of victory the past few years are much closer. Of the six state legislative seats in the two counties, four are held by Republicans.

It should be noted Democratic state Senate candidates won in Mahoning and Trumbull and lost outside those counties, which account for Republicans having those positions. But in prior years, the vote in the two counties was always enough to help Democratic candidates overcome struggles elsewhere.

It also is highly likely that the entirety of both counties will be represented by Republicans in the U.S. House starting next year. That hasn’t occurred in 86 years.

These are the challenges facing the newly elected Democratic chairmen in Mahoning and Trumbull.

Joyce Kale-Pesta, who took over the Mahoning Democrats in May 2019 after the resignation of Chairman David Betras, chose not to seek re-election.

Christopher Anderson, who is president of the Ohio Young Democrats, was elected last Saturday to succeed her and has a number of ideas to raise money and modernize the party. Youngstown Councilman Mike Ray, his lone challenger, dropped out after addressing the party, leaving Anderson to run unopposed.

Mark Alberini, Trumbull County Board of Elections chairman, decided about two weeks before Tuesday’s election that he would challenge Dan Polivka for the party’s leadership.

Alberini won 64-53, beating Polivka, who had served as Trumbull Democratic chairman for 12 years.

It can’t be understated how impressive it was for Alberini to win.

It shows the central committee wasn’t happy with the direction the party has gone in the past few years, which included Polivka’s 2020 defeat for county commissioner, a job he held for 16 years.

Alberini tapped into the reality that the party isn’t nearly as strong as it was in Trumbull County years ago and vowed to “make being Democratic cool again.”

Alberini pointed out the poor financial situation the party finds itself in, as there hasn’t been a fundraiser in four years.

During his nominating speech, Alberini said: “If you’re of the mindset like me that we can do better, we can do more, we have to do more, we have to change up how we do things in order to retake Trumbull County, to retake the state of Ohio to make us blue again, then I represent that choice. My pledge to you is I want to strengthen and unify our party through increased activism, increased visibility, get out there. We’re stagnant. We’re not seen like our opponents.”

Anderson and Alberini face hurdles over the next four years to stop — or at least slow down — the Republican momentum in the area.

Are they up to the task?

Skolnick covers politics for The Vindicator and the Tribune Chronicle.