Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno will win the Ohio Republican Senate primary in a race that will test the weight of former President Trump’s support, the Associated Press predicts.
Moreno defeated Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday night in a race that many believe is a surefire opportunity for Republicans to flip the seat. , was predicted to be the winner. Moreno argued that the contentious Republican primary is a battle between outsiders pushing the MAGA agenda and establishment forces.
“The reality is we have a chance now. We have a chance to retire the old communists, send them to nursing homes and save this country,” Moreno told supporters in his victory speech. He was referring to incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, whom he will run against in November.
“Think about it, this guy has been in office since Richard Nixon was president,” Moreno said. “This guy has held elected office, but he’s never held a job in the private sector. And what does he do? He says he’s a champion of working-class Americans. ing.”
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Former President Trump greets Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno during a rally at Dayton International Airport on March 16, 2024 in Vandalia, Ohio. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“So let’s break it down a little bit,” Moreno continued. “Under Sherrod Brown’s watch, China went from a $4 billion trade deficit with the United States to a $235 billion annual trade deficit. This country’s middle class has shrunk on his watch, and we have shrunk on his watch. We’ve seen local banks, small banks, regional banks completely wiped out by his leadership of what they now call the Senate Banking Committee. This is happening on Sherrod Brown’s watch.”
During the primary campaign, Moreno positioned himself as a political outsider to the establishment that gets things done in Washington, D.C.
Moreno, who was endorsed by President Trump in December, said at a rally in suburban Cleveland on the eve of the primary, “If you want someone more liberal than Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate, you should vote for Matt Dolan.” insisted.
Mr. Dolan has the backing of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman, both of whom are considered old guard or top establishment members of the Ohio Republican Party, but with large sums of money. of his own money and has skyrocketed in the polls in recent weeks. The airwaves air ads that attempt to walk the line between supporting Trump’s policies while distancing himself from the person Trump is.
“I’m the only one in this campaign who cut taxes and cut regulations. Who else would have done that? Donald Trump,” Dolan said Monday in an interview with Fox News Digital in Columbus. . “Everyone wants to talk about supporting Donald Trump. I’m the only one who actually implemented Donald Trump’s policies because it helps Ohio.”
“Bernie wants to be divisive. I want to be inclusive of all Republicans,” Dolan said. “I’m not interested in dividing the Republican Party. I’m interested in seeing Republicans win when they run conservative policies. When that happens, Ohioans and Americans are better off. That’s what I want. That’s the message we’re putting out there.”
“His character?” Dolan, the only candidate not to support Trump, said during a debate in early March. “That’s not me. His political style? That’s not me. But his policies that make your life better, make America stronger, and make Ohio stronger, that’s who I am.”
Moreno created veiled reference for this comment while speaking to President Trump at a Dayton-area rally on Saturday.
“I’m tired of Republicans saying, ‘I support President Trump’s policies, but I don’t like this person,'” Moreno said. “This man is a good man. This man is a great American. This man wakes up every day and fights for us, for this country. He loves this country like he’s never loved before.”
Trump and leading allies take on Sherrod Brown’s challenger Bernie Moreno in final battle in Ohio Senate race
Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno celebrates with supporters after winning the Ohio Republican Senate primary on March 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Mr. LaRose, who supported Mr. Trump, sought to portray Mr. Trump as the only true conservative during the campaign and criticized his past comments and positions against Mr. Moreno. gun control and the abortion while labeling Dolan a RINO (Republican in Name Only) because of his past voting record.
Mr. LaRose, who outperformed Mr. Moreno and Mr. Dolan by a wide margin, has touted his conservative record, telling Fox News Digital this year that he is “the most dangerous weapon against.” [Sen.] It’s Sherrod Brown. ”
The campaign will now focus on Brown, the only Democrat to win a statewide victory in Ohio in the past decade, and his matchup with Moreno will determine which party controls the Senate in November. This will have a significant impact on whether they hold power.
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Democrats control the Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable situation in the Senate in 2024, when Democrats will defend 23 of the 34 seats at stake. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump won in 2020: Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, but Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election.
Mr. Trump and his surrogates, who rallied behind Mr. Moreno, have already begun attacking Mr. Brown as out of step with voters in Ohio, a state Mr. Trump won by 8 points in 2020. Republicans also argue that Brown is a rubber stamp for the president. Biden.
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Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital at a Saturday rally in Dayton that Moreno is the frontrunner to challenge Brown.Brown “talks one-sidedly when he’s at home,” but is voting for Biden in Washington, D.C.
”“Ohio needs to defeat this horrible radical left Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, who is pretending to be my best friend,” President Trump told the Dayton audience. “He pretends to be my best friend until he gets into the country, but then he always turns to the radical left.” If you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He isn’t. ”
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Moreno praised Trump’s accomplishments in his victory speech.
“I want to thank President Trump for everything he has done for me and this campaign, and for his unwavering support,” Moreno said in his victory speech.
Moreno emphasized that he spoke with the former president immediately after his predicted victory, saying he was “proud of President Trump’s support.”
Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno celebrates with supporters after winning the Ohio Republican Senate primary on March 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
And in an interview with Fox News after his primary victory, Moreno said, “The endorsement from Donald J. Trump is the strongest endorsement in modern political history. There’s never been anything like it, and perhaps There will be nothing like it in the future,” he said. . ”
He added that Trump’s support was “probably decisive” in winning the primary.
“I think that was a win for us.” [Trump] agenda. For an America First agenda,” he added.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
