An EV plant bolstered by Biden’s climate law sparks hope in Northeast Ohio – but not a revival of its Democratic roots

The story of Lordstown, Ohio – and its new EV battery plant – sheds light on a political moment as rank-and-file union workers shift from their Democratic roots.

For this long-beleaguered region of Northeast Ohio, a gleaming new 2.8 million-square-foot manufacturing plant symbolizes something that has been fleeting in recent years: hope. Hope that years of promises – so often broken or deferred – have been replaced by action in the form of 2,200 employees at the Ultium Cells electric vehicle battery plant, which sits at the forefront of cutting-edge green technology and manufacturing. Hope in the shadow of the hulking former General Motors Lordstown plant that closed its doors in 2019, forcing workers like George Goranitis to leave the only jobs and homes they knew. “All the mills shutting down, packers shutting down – the last thing here for a good-paying job was General Motors Lordstown,” Goranitis said. The collapse of the lone remaining cornerstone of a manufacturing powerhouse cut to the heart of a proud community. “Members, you know, weren’t able to handle some of the news,” Goranitis recalled. “And, you know, the situations they were in at that time, they took their own lives. There was divorces because of it. You know, families were ripped apart.”