Former businessman Bernie Moreno has secured the Republican nomination for Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, setting up a contest with incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in November.
AP News declared that Moreno emerged victorious at 8:35 p.m. EST. As of 9:40 p.m. EST, Moreno is first with 49.5% of the vote, Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) is second with 32.9% of the vote while Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is third with 17.6% of the vote.
Moreno previously owned a network of Mercedez dealerships, which he sold in the late 2010’s. Now a multi-millionaire, Moreno has pursued a career in politics since 2022, when he also ran for the U.S. Senate but withdrew from the race before the primary election. Moreno has collected an extensive list of endorsements from prominent GOP leaders like former President Donald Trump. Just before Trump’s endorsement, Moreno’s campaign spent $13,120.88 to cater an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Recent polling from Florida Atlantic University had Moreno 11 percentage points behind Brown in the general election race.