Ohio voters went to the polls Tuesday to elect a Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. The red-state competitive Senate seats are considered must-wins for Republicans hoping to regain control of the House in November.
The race will also be an early indicator of Donald Trump’s support. Maga In a year when Trump once again tops the Republican vote, the seal of approval is worth it.
What was originally a three-person race, by Tuesday had fallen to the two leading candidates: State Sen. Matt Dolan, who was joined by Ohio’s popular Republican Gov. Mike DeWine (Mike DeWine) support. With the support of Donald Trump, businessman Bernie Moreno is a strong contender.
Ohio is a predominantly white, working-class state that has historically held purple state status. reddened Over the past few years. In 2020, President Joe Biden became the first president since 1960 to win the presidential election without winning Ohio.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose has also entered the race, but LaRose has fallen behind in recent weeks, giving up an early lead.Despite LaRose’s rise to fame, he lost momentum, in part because Dolan and Moreno were able to self-financing their own activities.
Dolan’s family owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.Moreno has made his own multi-million dollar life As a car dealer and investor in blockchain technology.
Trump test
Nationally, Republicans are watching the Buckeye State’s primaries closely for signs of Trump’s hold on Republican voters.
Moreno’s performance on Tuesday will provide an early test of whether Trump’s support has risen since 2020 and 2022, when his handpicked candidates underperformed in key races.
In 2020, Trump failed to be re-elected and the Republican Party lost both houses of Congress. In 2022, Republicans won a slim majority in the House and lost Senate seats in red states with weak candidates.
Before clinching the nomination earlier this month, Trump’s shaky record provided a solid line of attack for his Republican presidential primary opponents.
“Republicans continue to fail under Trump,” former presidential candidate Nikki Haley release on X before she dropped out of the race. “Let’s stop losing to Trump. Let’s make the Republican Party the winning party again.”
DeWine dodged a question on Sunday about whether Trump’s support for Moreno was enough to swing Tuesday’s primary in Moreno’s favor.
Spokespersons for the campaigns of Moreno and Dolan did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Concerns about Moreno
Heading into Tuesday’s election, a large group of Ohio voters remain undecided.
Trump held a rally Saturday near Dayton, Ohio, aimed at providing support for Moreno ahead of the primary.
“Bernie is a great guy. He’s getting some pretty harsh Democratic sham treatment right now,” Trump said. “Don’t leave me alone, Bernie… Ohio needs (you) to defeat the scary radical left Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown who pretends to be my best friend.”
Moreno’s campaign took a hit last week Associated Press The report said a 2008 account on the casual sex website Adult Friend Finder was linked to Moreno’s email account.
The profile associated with Moreno was allegedly looking for “men engaging in one-on-one sex,” the Associated Press reported. Moreno has always opposed LGBTQ+ rights (when and how), and his lawyer said the creation of a dating account by one of Moreno’s former interns was a “hoax.”
Still, the unfolding scandal has raised new questions about whether Moreno, who has never held public office, can replace Brown in November.
Democrats have seized on the headwinds facing Moreno in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary. democracy Political groups spent millions of dollars on ads trying to promote Moreno over Dolan.
DeWine said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Democrats “obviously think Dolan is the strongest candidate, so that’s why I support Matt Dolan.”
“Ohio may be one of the states that determines who controls the United States Senate. So the stakes are high in this election,” DeWine said.
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