Businessman Bernie Moreno, who is running in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, announced another endorsement from a sitting U.S. Senator, in this case Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). The seat, currently held by vulnerable Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, is considered one of the top Senate races for 2024, and a key chance for Republicans to pick up a seat as part of what looks to be a favorable map to them.
"The U.S. Senate needs more conservative leaders like Bernie Moreno," Rubio said in his Wednesday endorsement. "He’s fought through government red tape to build and run successful businesses. He’s created jobs, raised a family, and given back to his community. Bernie is a proven leader who knows how to get things done. With Bernie in the U.S. Senate, Ohioans will know that they have someone beholden only to them and that he will fight every day for their families, their communities, and their values."
Moreno, who is based in Cleveland, is well-known in the area for his business experience, including with car dealerships.
"I am honored to have the endorsement of Senator Marco Rubio," Moreno said in response. "Senator Rubio sees clearly what people across Ohio are seeing--ours is the only campaign with the momentum and the vision to restore Ohio’s voice in the U.S. Senate. For too long, Sherrod Brown has talked a big game, and only delivered for D.C. special interests. I look forward to working with Senator Rubio, Senator Vance and other conservatives in the U.S. Senate who will fight for working families," he said, referencing another endorsement he received.
Honored to have the endorsement of @marcorubio in my race for US Senate in Ohio.
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) August 2, 2023
As a member of the US Senate, I'll stand with Sen. Rubio to fight for pro-family economic policies and pro-worker trade policies that strengthen our middle-class and hold China accountable. pic.twitter.com/Bpp2BYt94Y
Moreno quickly earned the endorsement of Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), who won the 2022 November election to replace now retired Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). Both Vance and Moreno ran in the crowded Republican primary, though Moreno dropped out early. Vance received an endorsement from former and potentially future President Donald Trump in April of last year, going on to surge in the polls and win the primary. Moreno went on to enthusiastically support Vance.
Although an endorsement has not yet come from Trump, he has spoken highly of Moreno around the time he announced his candidacy in April.
Trump made positive remarks about Moreno more recently as well, during his remarks at last month's Turning Point conference, where Moreno and Vance also spoke.
🚨President Trump makes a new statement on the 2024 Ohio Senate Race, “"We love Ohio and we love Bernie Moreno."
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) July 15, 2023
pic.twitter.com/Q36mCSpTuO
Trump and Moreno have a further connection in that Moreno's daughter is married to Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) who served as an aide to the former president and earned an endorsement in his 2021 congressional race.
Kurt Schlichter has also praised Moreno in his columns for Townhall, including last month:
Ohio: Sherrod Brown is a weird communist doofus who my home state has inexplicably elected several times, even though it has been getting consistently redder over the years. The idea of a younger, less-virile Bernie Sanders representing Ohio is bizarre, and this cycle, it is time to send him to where fired pinkos go. Trump will not hurt the GOP here, but the impeachment issue will hurt Brown since Brown holds a fellow Democrat countable for his crimes. I like Bernie Moreno here, but it will be a big primary because the GOP smells blood. This is a likely win for the GOP.
Moreno was mentioned in another column from back in March, too:
I like Bernie Moreno, the car dealer magnate who dropped out last time to clear a path for JD Vance. I met him at CPAC. He’s cool. He’s based. He and my wife spoke to each other in Spanish and I think they were talking bad about me. His immigrant pro-American dream agenda is infectious – it’s genuine, and that’s hard to fake. He’s another candidate in that normal/competent frame that voters want right now. Yet he’s got no use for commie nonsense. Cool.
Moreno is running in the primary alongside Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, the latter who also ran in 2022, though he came in third with 23.34 percent of the vote. This came even after the mainstream media looked to give him a boost due to his views opposing Trump, who remains a popular figure in Ohio, and who won in 2016 and 2020 by about 8 points.
LaRose, who also supported Vance's 2022 Senate run, was the only sitting secretary of state that year to receive Trump's endorsement. He won reelection by over 20 points. LaRose also endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential primary not long after he officially declared last month.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines (R-MT) shared in an interview last month with CBS News that the NRSC believes any one of the candidates can win the race, and so they are thus staying out of the primary.
The race is considered by prognosticators to be a "Toss-Up."