Trump-backed candidate Bernie Moreno wins Ohio Republican Senate primary, NBC News projects

Donald
Trump-backed
businessman
Bernie
Moreno
will
win

Ohio’s
Republican
Senate
primary,
NBC
News
projects,
teeing
up
a
high
stakes
November
contest
against
incumbent
Democratic
Sen.
Sherrod
Brown.

“What
we
have
to
do
now
is,
as
a
fully
united
party,
understand
we
have
one
mission,
which
is
to
get
rid
of
Sherrod
Brown,”
Moreno
said
in
a
victory
speech
in
a
Cleveland
suburb
Tuesday
night.

Moreno’s
main
opponent
was
State
Sen.
Matt
Dolan,
who
secured
the
endorsement
of
Ohio’s
popular
Republican
Gov.

Mike
DeWine
early
last
week.
Secretary
of
State
Frank
LaRose
was
also
on
the
ballot,
but
held
a
steady
third
place,
out-funded
by
his
wealthier
competitors. 

Moreno’s
victory
sends
an
early
message
for
this
election
year:
Trump’s
MAGA
seal
of
approval
may
hold
a
power
in
2024
that
it
did
not
several
years
ago.

“I
wear
with
honor.
My
endorsement
of
President
but
from
President
Trump,
I
wear
that
with
a
badge
of
honor,”
Moreno
said.

In
2020,
Trump
lost
the
White
House
to
President
Joe
Biden
and
the
GOP
lost
both
chambers
of
Congress.
In
2022,
many
Trump-backed
candidates
underperformed
in
key
races,
though
Republicans
were
able
to
narrowly
take
back
the
House. 

With
memories
of
that
spotty
track
record
still
fresh,
Ohio’s
race
was
positioned
as
a
test
for
whether
the
former
president’s
backing
had
renewed
sway
over
the
GOP
establishment
this
election
year. 

The
success
of
Moreno,
57,
a
politically
inexperienced
entrepreneur
who
made
his
living
as
a
luxury
car
dealer
and
blockchain
investor,
over
career
politician
Dolan
boosts
Trump’s
comeback
thesis.

“It’s
evident
that
Donald
Trump’s
endorsement
for
Bernie
Moreno
was
a
key
factor,”
Dolan
told
reporters
after
conceding
the
race
to
Moreno.

With
Tuesday’s
primary
battle
in
rearview,
Moreno’s
campaign
now
shifts
to
general
election
mode
as
the
Republican
party
counts
on
him
to
unseat
Sen.
Brown
and
help
regain
Senate
control.

There
has
already
been
GOP
head-scratching
over
Moreno’s
ability
to
flip
the
Democratic
seat.
Especially
after
he
faced
backlash
following
an

Associated
Press
report
that
linked
his
email
address
to
a
2008
account
on
a
casual
sex
website
seeking
“Men
for
1-on-1
sex.”

Moreno’s
lawyer
later
released
a
statement
saying
that
a
former
intern
for
Moreno
had
created
the
account
as
a
prank.

In
the
days
leading
up
to
the
Senate
race,
a
Democratic
PAC
spent
millions
on
ads
that
were
intended
to
boost
Moreno,
reflecting
Democrats’
belief
that
it
would
be
easier
for
Brown
to
beat
Moreno
in
November
than
Dolan.

Ohio
has
turned
redder
over
the
past
few
election
cycles,
and
Trump
won
the
state
in
2016
and
2020.
The
Republican
Party
has
been
looking
to
capitalize
on
the
Buckeye
State’s
red
wave
in
order
to
help
the
party
take
back
control
of
the
Senate. 

“Ohio
is
maybe
one
of
the
states
that
decides
who
controls
the
United
States
Senate,”
Gov.
Mike
DeWine
said
on
Sunday.
“So
there’s
a
lot
at
stake
in
this
election.”