AUSTINTOWN, Ohio - In 2016, Trumbull County crossed over from Democrat to Republican when they voted in President Donald Trump. Now, Mahoning County's GOP is hoping to do the same in Decision 2020.

With a "Make America Great Again" flag flying, signs outside a sold-out Lincoln Day dinner event in Austintown summed up what the event was all about. One sign read, "Youngstown Time to Change. Vote Republican."

Inside the keynote speaker, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., posed with local law enforcement before taking the podium. 

"When you elect a political person, you're going to get political behavior. Political behavior got us to this point. Right, this country is a mess," said Clarke during an interview before the event where he called himself a "foot soldier" for the President and talked about keeping voters motivated. "They saw what happened to him over the last couple of years and it's easy to get deflated again, so you have to restore their sense of urgency, and that's what I'm here for," Clarke said.

And the Lincoln Day dinner may be a good start for the local Republican Party. It was a sold out event. With 550 tickets sold, the event was the largest in the county's history and possibly the largest in the state so far this year.

"It's hard to tell who is going to come out of the primary on the Democrat side. But the way the Democrats have been going, running so far to the left, I think it looks good for Trump," said Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Tom McCabe.