In Springfield, Ohio, Trump must settle the MAGA vs Chamber of Commerce war

At a rally in Ohio last week, President Donald Trump told his supporters that, "Even if you hate John Husted, even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy, you have to go vote for them." It was a blunt assessment of the GOP’s respective candidates for Senate and governor, but one that Trump, who wins Ohio elections like Tom Brady won Super Bowls, knows is vitally important.

Trump would laugh off the remark, saying that nobody really hates the GOP candidates.

But he was making an essential point, especially in Ohio, which is the front line of the war between the traditional GOP and Trump’s MAGA base, much of it centered on the question of immigration .

To hear from the Chamber of Commerce side, I spoke with Jim Lagos, who has lived his entire 75 years in Springfield, owns several buildings downtown, and has been a central figure in the attempts to revitalize the city’s downtown district.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AT OHIO RALLY, URGES VOTERS TO DELIVER GOP MIDTERM WINS "You have to pull the trigger," Jim told me of efforts to bring the very pretty, but very empty downtown back to life.

"My father always used to tell me 'Christopher Columbus took a risk.'" Jim, as is customary for civic leaders, had nice things to say about Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, both of whom he has met.

But he is all in for Husted and even more so for Ramasamy, who he hopes will slash regulations to speed up the recovery of towns like Springfield.

RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION "We have temporary cuts on taxes for small business in Ohio," Jim said.

"But they need to be extended.

Big companies got a permanent break, because they are smart enough to donate to both parties." Over the past three decades, Jim has rehabilitated several historic buildings in Springfield and succeeded in filling most of the space with occupants.

"Sometimes, when business is struggling, you have to carry them for a while until it gets better," he said.

ICE PREPARES MAJOR OPERATION TARGETING HAITIANS LOSING TPS AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING The issue that most bitterly divides the business leaders in Springfield from the MAGA base of Trump voters in the area is immigration, and in particular, the wave of 15,000 Haitian refugees who arrived between 2020 and 2025, overwhelming schools, housing stock, and even the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, according to locals.

Jim admits that the messaging, including the idea that Haitian migrants are better workers who don’t do drugs and want overtime, not only missed the mark, but downright offended many local native residents.

Ramaswamy has, in the past veered toward a similar sentiment, which Frank, who works construction in the area, took some issue with.