Donald Trump’s pick for the Republican Senate primary race in Ohio emerged victorious on Tuesday, securing another win for the ex-president in the Buckeye State.
Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland-based entrepreneur and political novice, surpassed GOP state Senator Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to progress to a face-off against incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in November.
Moreno garnered endorsements from key political figures aligned with Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, such as Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who rode Trump’s endorsement to the U.S. Senate in 2022 as an outsider. Dolan, Moreno’s main rival, received backing from established Republicans in the state, including Governor Mike DeWine and former Senator Rob Portman.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from Ohioans in all 88 counties,” Moreno posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday evening. “I appreciate Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose for engaging in a spirited primary contest. I eagerly anticipate uniting our party and striving to defeat Sherrod Brown in November!”
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Ohio, once considered a swing state in the 2000s and 2010s, has shown less competitiveness in recent major elections. Trump secured the state over President Joe Biden by an approximately 8 percent margin in 2020—a larger lead than in Texas and Florida that year.
The former president also outperformed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Ohio by 8 points in 2016 and received nearly 80 percent of the vote in the state’s presidential primary on Tuesday.
Brown remains the sole Democratic candidate to win a statewide Ohio election since 2012.
However, the political landscape in the state may be shifting once more after Ohioans voted to incorporate abortion protections into the state’s constitution in November, a consistent winning point for Democrats following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Voters also approved a measure to legalize recreational marijuana, which DeWine and other Ohio Republicans criticized leading up to the election.
The Ohio Senate race could provide Republicans an opportunity to gain control of Congress’ upper chamber in November. Only one other Senate seat, in Montana, is up for grabs this fall, where a Democratic incumbent is seeking reelection in a state that Trump won in 2020.
Various Republicans, including Vance, congratulated Moreno on Tuesday evening, with Vance noting that the businessman excels at winning.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate and Trump ally Kari Lake, running for U.S. Senate in Arizona, endorsed Moreno due to his integrity and hard work ethic.
Congressman Byron Donalds, a MAGA Republican from Florida, also celebrated Moreno’s victory, emphasizing that the path to a Republican Senate Majority runs through Ohio.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment on Tuesday night.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
