With former President Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Ohio has shifted its attention to key primary races on March 19 that could help determine who will control the House and Senate come Jan. 3, 2025.
Battle for the Senate
President Trump has endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno in the GOP primary for the Senate, which also includes Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan.President Trump endorsed Mr. Moreno in December 2023 and spoke at a rally for the candidate on March 16 in suburban Dayton, Ohio.
Mr. Brown, 71, is unopposed in the Democrat primary. He was first elected to the Senate in 2007 and has kept his seat in a deep red state.
“Ohio needs to defeat your horrendous radical left Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who pretends he’s my best friend. He pretends he’s my best friend, then he goes radical left all the time,” President Trump said at the March 16 rally, which was held at an airfield near the Dayton International Airport.
“If you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He’s not. He’s not with me.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) spoke at the rally in support of Mr. Moreno.
Ohio entrepreneur and former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and 14 other conservative senators, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have also backed Mr. Moreno.
Mr. LaRose has received endorsements from Ohio Right to Life, the Buckeye Firearms Association, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio).
And Mr. Dolan recently received endorsements from former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, two men considered moderates by many Ohio conservatives.
Before being elected as a state senator in 2017, Mr. Dolan served as a state representative from 2005 to 2010. His family owns the Cleveland Guardians, the Major League Baseball franchise that was known as the Cleveland Indians for decades before they changed the name amid concerns that it was offensive to Native Americans.
President Trump has repeatedly called Mr. Dolan a “RINO” (Republican in name only) and said he “caves to cancel culture,” a belief Mr. Moreno has also expressed.
When pressed at a GOP Senate debate earlier this month, Mr. Dolan—who has, to date, distanced himself from backing President Trump—praised President Trump’s policies, including his views on the border crisis.
“I’m supporting President Trump to be our nominee because I support Trump Republican policies,” he said.
“His personality? It’s not me. His political style? It’s not me. But his policies that make your life better, that make America stronger, that will make Ohio stronger? That is me.”
Mr. Dolan, 59, has also said that he is the only candidate who has enacted such “Trump policies.”
Mr. Moreno built his wealth as a luxury car dealer and a blockchain company founder. He has never held political office.
“I’m the only outsider in this race. I’m running against two career politicians,” Mr. Moreno told The Epoch Times.
“I’m the only one who supports Trump. Matt Dolan has said he does not support Trump, and LaRose hitched his wagon to [Ron] DeSantis.”
Mr. LaRose, 43, was an Ohio state senator for eight years before taking office as secretary of state in 2019. The U.S. Army veteran was a member of the Green Berets and is now in the U.S. Army Reserve.
President Trump endorsed Mr. LaRose’s reelection bid for Ohio secretary of state in 2022.
Mr. LaRose told reporters that he believed that the former president would remain neutral in the 2024 GOP Senate primary.
A few days later, Mr. Trump declared his support for Mr. Moreno.
During a GOP primary debate, Mr. LaRose said that even though he did not get President Trump’s endorsement, he is backed by pro-gun and pro-life organizations in Ohio.
“I’m the one that doesn’t just say it; I’m the one that has proven it. But I’m also the one that can defeat Sherrod Brown,” Mr. LaRose said.
“We need to defeat Sherrod Brown and replace him with someone who actually shares our values. I’m the one that checks both of those boxes.”
In recent weeks, the GOP Senate primary has emerged as a two-person race between Mr. Moreno and Mr. Dolan, with narrow margins between the two in polls.
A Democrat super PAC is spending more than $3.1 million on TV and digital ads intending to bolster Mr. Moreno, part of national Democrats’ attempt to elevate Trump-backed candidates that they believe they can defeat in the general election.
Controversy Over Adult Website
The contentious nature of the race was illustrated on March 15, when an Associated Press report indicated that a person with access to Mr. Moreno’s work email account created a profile on Adult Friend Finder (AFF), an adult website, seeking “men for 1-on-1 sex.”Mr. Moreno’s attorney, Charles Harder, said a former intern established the account. In a statement provided by Mr. Harder, the intern, Dan Ricci, wrote that he created “the account in question” as a “prank” and apologized to Mr. Moreno and his family “for any harm this foolishness has caused them.”
“The email address in question was not Bernie’s personal email address, but rather an email address that appeared on company websites and literature and was managed by staff,” Mr. Harder said in a statement.
“Multiple people had access to it, including this intern. Bernie Moreno had nothing to do with the AFF account.”
On March 16, Adult Friend Finder founder Andrew Conru wrote on social media platform X, “I reviewed all the available information and it showed that the account had only a single visit, no activity, no profile photo, consistent with a prank or someone just checking out the site.
“My sincere apologies to Bernie and anyone similarly affected by the 2016 data incident.”
Mr. Moreno has said little about the AP report. He called it “a sick, last-minute attack by desperate people” on March 15.
Buckeye Leadership Fund, a Dolan-aligned super PAC, released a statewide 30-second TV and radio ad regarding the AP report.
In the ad, the narrator says: “Creepy, huh? Moreno is damaged goods.
“That’s why Democrats are spending millions to prop up Moreno in the Republican primary, so Sherrod Brown can beat him in November.”
At a GOP dinner in northeast Ohio on March 15, Mr. Dolan said he did not know about the ad.
A source close to Mr. Moreno’s campaign said at least 10 TV stations have refused to run the Buckeye Leadership Fund ad following cease-and-desist notices from Mr. Moreno’s legal counsel.
Bridget Moreno, Mr. Moreno’s wife, released a statement condemning the attack.
“My husband and I have known Matt Dolan and his family for years. For him to stoop this low simply because he’s losing this race is disgusting, disgraceful, and he should be embarrassed. If he’s willing to slander my husband simply to win a political election, he doesn’t belong anywhere near elected office,” she wrote.
“Now that the story has proven to be 100% false, if Matt even has an ounce of integrity left in him, he will publicly disavow the slime coming from his family-funded super PAC.”
The candidate who wins the GOP primary will have a daunting challenge to unseat Mr. Brown.
He served in the Ohio Legislature from 1974 to 1982 before becoming Ohio’s secretary of state.
In 1991, he was elected to Congress as a U.S. Representative.
2 Toss-up House Races
Two key congressional races are the ones in the Ninth Congressional District and the 13th Congressional District.Republicans running in the Ninth Congressional District to face 21-term Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) are real estate owner and former mayor of Napoleon, Ohio, Steve Lankenau; state Rep. Derek Merrin; and former state Rep. Craig Riedel.
These races could be critical to who will control the lower congressional chamber next year.
The most notable aspects of this race include one candidate’s withdrawal and another one’s loss of a major endorsement.
J.R. Majewski, who was the 2022 GOP nominee in the district, lost that year to the 77-year-old Ms. Kaptur, 56.6 percent to 43.4 percent—likely in part because of an Associated Press report alleging that he misinformed people about his military record.
His 2024 campaign also was not without controversy.
In February, Mr. Majewski, 44, compared Democrats’ going after him on the internet to “being in the Special Olympics.”
“No matter how good you perform, you’re still [expletive] retarded,” he said.
In March, he announced the suspension of his campaign.
“While I know I would win, and have a great shot in the general election now that my record has been cleared, it is inevitable that the Deep State will do whatever it takes to fight against me,” Mr. Majewski said in a statement. “Even going as far as attacking my family and once again accusing me of stolen valor.”
He stressed that former President Donald Trump did not ask him to leave the race. He even noted that he would work to reelect him.
Mr. Riedel, 57, lost the support of House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) after a recording came to light courtesy of major Trump supporter Charlie Kirk’s radio show in which Mr. Riedel said of President Trump: “I think he is arrogant. I don’t like the way he calls people names. I just don’t think that’s very becoming of a president.”
The original date of the audio recording is uncertain.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms. Stefanik announced the revocation of her endorsement: “Earlier this week, I informed Craig Riedel (OH-09) that I will be withdrawing my endorsement. I was very disappointed in his inappropriate comments regarding President Trump. As we begin 2024, my focus is on ensuring we nominate the strongest candidates on the ballot who are committed to electing President Trump this November and expanding our House GOP Majority.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Riedel has been endorsed by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Americans for Prosperity, the largest conservative grassroots organization in the United States.
Mr. Merrin, 38, has been endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Mr. Majewski, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Kaptur has been in the House since 1983 and is the longest-serving female member of Congress ever.
Republicans in the other swing race—the 13th Congressional District—looking to take on Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), a freshman congresswoman, are U.S. Marine veteran and businessman Chris Banweg, former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, and imaging technician Richard Morckel, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 and 2020.
Mr. Banweg has been endorsed by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Mr. Coughlin, 53, has been backed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)—a split of staunch Trump supporters.
