MANSFIELD, Ohio — When they gather near Columbus for their fourth debate, Democrats will be coming to a state that, if not “great again,” is by many accounts doing quite O.K., certainly much better than a decade ago.

Unemployment is lower than it has been in many years. Wages are inching up. Despite multiple signs of a recession in manufacturing nationally, many manufacturers here say they just don’t see it.

How Ohio votes in 2020 could come down to one question: Are people judging things based on the dismal economy of a decade ago? Or on the heyday of the well-paid union worker in the state’s industrial past?

“If you were to compare what’s happening now to what the past 20 years have been like, things are really good,” said Jay Goyal, 38, who runs a metal manufacturing firm in this small industrial city between Cleveland and Columbus. “Anyone who wants a job right now can get a job, and that hasn’t necessarily been the case.”