Ohio’s U.S. Senate race: Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno gear up for November

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The month since Bernie Moreno won a Republican primary to challenge Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race has been about setting the tone for the fall campaign.

Here are developments since the primary election.

Endorsement rundown

Brown has served in the U.S. House or Senate since 2007 and has the clear backing of Democrats. Since the primary, he has picked up several new endorsements. Those include:

• Communications Workers of America

• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

• Service Employees International Union

• Laborers’ International Union of North America

• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

• Ohio State Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters, Sprinkler Fitters, and Mechanical Equipment Service Technicians

• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

During the primary, Moreno dominated endorsements among the Republican candidates. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and over a dozen senators.

After endorsing state Rep. Matt Dolan in the primary, Gov. Mike DeWine endorsed Moreno the day after the election. The other major primary candidate, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, endorsed Moreno two days later. Other endorsements have included state Treasurer Robert Sprague, Auditor Keith Faber, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and the Ohio GOP Congressional Delegation. Dolan has yet to make an endorsement.

Criticisms against Brown

Moreno’s strategy to target Brown has been coming into focus. Since the race in the general election was set, Moreno’s campaign has gone after Brown for his support of President Joe Biden and for other positions.

Moreno’s campaign called Brown “one of Biden’s most reliable Senate votes.” According to a news release from the campaign, a review of Brown’s voting record on VoteView — a database maintained by UCLA political scientists — showed that Brown voted with Biden 99% of the time from 2021 to 2023 and 97% of the time since 2023. The campaign pointed out that Brown did this while representing a state that Trump won by eight points in 2020.

Moreno followed with a statement on April 10 about the latest inflation increase, blaming the Biden administration and Brown.

Criticisms against Moreno

Throughout the Republican primary, Moreno was repeatedly targeted by opponents for his seemingly inconsistent stances on issues, including his support of Trump and his positions on border security. Since the primary, Brown’s team has made similar criticisms.

As a vocal opponent of China, Moreno has repeatedly claimed he refused to sell the Buick Envision at his car dealerships because they were made in China.

“I stood my ground and did not sell that car, because I knew that the consumers that walked in my showroom were thinking they were buying an American car,” Moreno said.

But Moreno’s dealership did sell it, as shown in social media posts.

Another criticism Brown’s campaign has made was over abortion. Ohio Democrats highlighted Moreno as having described himself as “absolute[ly] pro-life, no exceptions.”

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