(CN) — Businessman Bernie Moreno won the Republican primary in Ohio for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, setting up another test of Donald Trump’s clout in this election cycle.
Moreno was declared the winner by Decision Desk at 8:31 p.m. Eastern Time. With 84% or precincts reporting, Moreno had 509,561 votes (50.3%). Matt Dolan, a lawyer who serves in the Ohio Senate, received 331,057 votes (32.7%) and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose got 171,705 votes (17%).
Moreno, a multimillionaire who has never held political office, will seek to oust incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in the November election and join fellow Republican J.D. Vance in the U.S. Senate.
The Republican nominee wasted no time in going after Brown in his victory speech.
“You know, the reality is we have an opportunity,” Moreno told his supporters. “We have an opportunity now to retire the old commie.”
Brown’s campaign issued a statement after the race was called.
“The choice ahead of Ohio is clear: Bernie Moreno has spent his career and campaign putting himself first and would do the same if elected,” Brown said in the statement. “Elections come down to whose side you’re on, and I’ll always work for Ohio — from standing up to special interests taking advantage of Ohio workers and corporations raising costs for families to making sure our veterans get the healthcare they earned.”
Moreno amassed his fortune as the owner of several Mercedes-Benz dealerships. He has leaned into the "outsider" moniker throughout his campaign.
Moreno secured endorsements from former President Donald Trump and Vance. Moreno, in a debate, called Trump "the greatest president of my lifetime" and made it clear he would support Trump unequivocally if both men are elected to office in November.
“I want to thank President Trump for all he did for me, for this campaign, for his unwavering support, for his love of this country,” Moreno said in his victory speech at a hotel near his home in a Cleveland suburb. “Because I don't think I've ever seen someone who loves this country the way he does.”
Trump, who easily secured the state’s Republican nomination on Tuesday, was victorious in Ohio in his first two presidential campaigns and won the state by eight percentage points in 2020.
Recent polls leading up to the Senate primary election suggested a tight race.
LaRose, an Army veteran, was widely considered the frontrunner when he announced his candidacy before a series of political setbacks. However, support for him was rising in recent polls.
LaRose's support of the failed attempt to amend the Ohio Constitution in an August 2023 special election did him no favors with Ohio voters, who rejected the measure across the board.
The change would have made it nearly impossible to amend the constitution in the future and was widely viewed as a way for Republicans to prevent the passage of Issue 1, an amendment that enshrined a right to abortion and reproductive decisions in the state's constitution. Ohioans voted to pass the measure in last year's election cycle.
LaRose said on X Tuesday night that he called Moreno to congratulate him.
“I’m honored and humbled by the thousands of Ohioans who stood with me in this campaign,” LaRose said on the social media site. “While this is not my time to serve as our party’s nominee for the United States Senate, I’m profoundly grateful for those who gave me their support.”
Dolan focused his campaign on his political acumen and experience.
His father, Larry Dolan, is the owner of the Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball franchise; Matt Dolan worked in the team's front office before his career in politics.
Dolan told reporters that he offered words of encouragement to Moreno: "Rest up tonight, go celebrate, and then go beat Sherrod Brown."
The economy and abortion, always a hot-button topic but with added importance in Ohio after Issue 1, took center stage during the campaign. All three candidates took a firm anti-abortion stance.
Despite the win, Moreno will face a tough test against Brown in November, despite Ohio trending away from being a battleground state and towards becoming a conservative stronghold.
Brown, who was unchallenged in the primary, has been a senator since 2007 and is seeking a fourth term as the Democratic Party seeks to maintain its slim majority in the Senate.
According to campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission released at the end of 2023, Moreno had raised over $7.2 million.
Brown, meanwhile, amassed a war chest of over $27 million and reported raising $6.6 million in the final quarter of 2023 alone. He still has more than $14.6 million in cash on hand.
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