Ottawa County has been a Republican stronghold for more than a century and a half. But heading into the November election, divisions within the local Republican Party and concerns about the cost of living are raising questions about the direction of this western Michigan community.
President Donald Trump carried the county by more than 20 percentage points in 2024. Yet that same year, voters in the Republican primary rejected several members of a far-right movement that had taken control of county government just two years earlier.
Now, with another election approaching, residents are weighing familiar political loyalties against frustration over rising prices, housing costs and the direction of their local government.
On a sunny Saturday morning in September, Mary Koning sits at her stall at the Holland Farmers Market. Families and older couples wander between vendors, carrying fresh produce and chatting as they shop.
Koning, a Democrat who lives in Ottawa County, is frustrated by the country's political direction.
“You almost feel like they’re setting you straight,” Koning said. “I don’t even know what to do to make it better, aside from voting.”
Her frustration comes as economic pressures and political divisions are complicating the landscape in an otherwise reliably Republican county.
Deep conservative roots
Ottawa County has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1864. While the cities of Holland and Grand Haven voted for Democrat Kamala Harris by double digits in 2024, the county as a whole overwhelmingly supported Trump.
But the county's Republican identity has been challenged from within.
“Ottawa County is kind of a little bit of a unicorn at this moment in time because we went through a kind of hyper-polarized past couple of years, where there was a far-right faction of the Republican Party that just kind of took over county government for a couple of years,” said Sarah Leach, executive editor of the Ottawa News Network.
That faction emerged through Ottawa Impact, a deeply conservative political group founded in 2021. Its candidates won control of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in 2022, ushering in a period of contentious local politics.
Two years later, the group lost its majority after several Ottawa Impact-backed candidates were defeated by more traditional Republicans in the primary election.
The county commission remains overwhelmingly Republican, with 10 Republicans and one Democrat. But the majority is now made up of establishment Republicans who, according to Grand Valley State University professor Donald Zinman, are less activist and more willing to compromise.
"You basically have this Republican party in this county that is split between normal establishment, normal Republicans and Ottawa Impact group of hardcore, in your face, MAGA activists who are at each other's throats," Zinman said.
The divisions illustrate an important distinction in Ottawa County politics. Voters may be rejecting one faction of the Republican Party without abandoning the party itself.
Even in elections when Michigan has favored Democrats, Ottawa County has remained solidly Republican. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won statewide by 10 percentage points in 2018, she received just 37% of the vote in Ottawa County.
That history makes any broader Democratic breakthrough difficult. But the internal struggle among Republicans has already shown that voters are willing to change the direction of their local government.
Growth comes at a cost
Beyond the political divisions, Ottawa County is facing many of the pressures that come with growth.
The American Communities Project classifies Ottawa County as an Exurb, a type of community generally located on the fringes of major metropolitan areas, where suburban development meets more rural surroundings.
Ottawa County's population has grown by roughly 4% since 2020, compared with less than 1% statewide. About 39% of county adults age 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher, and the median household income is approximately $90,000, both higher than Michigan as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But those economic advantages have not insulated residents from rising housing costs.
The median listing price for a home in Ottawa County exceeded $430,000 in September, according to Zillow.
A 2025 housing assessment found the county faced a shortage of more than 16,000 housing units.
For residents trying to buy their first home or remain in the communities where they grew up, those numbers represent a growing challenge.
Chris Kleinjans, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 31st Senate District who has spent nearly his entire life in Ottawa County, says residents are increasingly being priced out.
The housing shortage is particularly significant in a county where population growth continues to outpace much of Michigan.
Affordability takes center stage
As Nov. 3 approaches, the cost of everyday life is weighing on residents.
“Across the board, everything is more expensive,” said Chris Knieper, who works in social services in Ottawa County. “It’s becoming more and more difficult. I have kids that are in their early 20s and things like housing, even groceries. Being out on their own, it’s harder to save.”
The pressure extends beyond housing. Grocery bills, transportation and other everyday expenses are making it harder for families to get ahead.
Zinman says the cumulative effect can be especially difficult in a place long considered relatively affordable.
"Historically, it's been a more affordable place to live, but it's draining," Zinman said. "Because the cost of everything is going up. First, it's a few extra pennies on gas, then a few extra pennies on meat and a few extra pennies on orange juice. It adds up."
Those concerns are also coming up on the campaign trail.
Kleinjans says the message from residents has become increasingly urgent as Election Day approaches.
“I started knocking on doors almost a year ago, and the conversations I’ve had have not gotten better as our economic situation gets more perilous."
“People are hurting and they just want to be heard.”
For Ottawa County, the question in November may not be whether its longstanding Republican identity will change. It may be whether frustration over affordability and the direction of local politics continues to reshape the kind of leadership voters expect from the party that has dominated the county for generations.
