The alternate timeline
In this reality, the independence of Texas in 1836 becomes an inspiration far beyond the Texan frontier. Ohio follows the example and declares its own independence, separating from the United States and establishing itself as a sovereign country.
When Texas later joins the United States, Ohio chooses a different road. Rather than giving up its independence, it remains outside the Union and preserves a separate political identity through the following century.
The timeline takes its strangest turn in 1934. A Redditor known as Speedwagon_Enjoyer somehow travels back in time and manages to take leadership of Ohio. Instead of replacing the country's established ideology, he continues the political tradition of Ohaism and introduces aggressive reproductive incentives and laws.
The result is an enormous demographic explosion. By the HOI4 era, Ohio has reached the ridiculous manpower levels that define the mod, turning what would normally be one American state into a disproportionately powerful independent nation.