Bernie Moreno is squaring off against Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose.
Senate candidate Bernie Moreno speaks before former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, March 16, 2024.Ohio's GOP Senate primary is heading for a fierce finish Tuesday night as three Republicans bludgeon each other for the chance to run in one of the country's marquee races this year.
Over a half-dozen political strategists who spoke to ABC News in the days leading up to the primary projected that Moreno entered voting Tuesday as the slight favorite, riding the wave of his alliance with Trump in a state where the former president remains popular with the grassroots. But with recent polls still pegging at least a fifth of the electorate as undecided, the race remained unsettled with the clock ticking down.
Dolan has also tapped into his own immense wealth to blanket the airwaves with ads, emerging as easily the biggest spender in the primary. Some GOP strategists expressed caution at reading Tuesday's results as part of a broader Republican proxy war, suggesting the gobs of money being spent are more determinative than any one candidate's stance on Trump. But Moreno's allies expressed confidence in their footing on that ideological battlefield, contrasting Dolan's recent endorsements with Trump's involvement.
"It's not going to get the full message delivery that I think they thought they would be able to pull off," one Ohio GOP strategist involved in the race said of Dolan allies' seizing on the story. "Sherrod Brown gets in right as the before the elevator door closes, and in the time between the bottom floor and the eighth floor where the event was, Sherrod Brown had a brief yet meaningful exchange with every individual person on that elevator. I mean, he's a good retail politician, and he works hard," Stivers said.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Key Takeaways From Monday’s U.S. Senate Ohio Republican Primary DebateOhio’s Republican U.S. Senate primary candidates met for their second of three debates at the University of Findlay Monday evening.
Read more »
Trump to rally for Bernie Moreno days before high-stakes Ohio Senate primaryHenry J. Gomez is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
Read more »
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to Join Trump at Ohio Rally for Senate CandidateRepublican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is joining former President Donald Trump at a rally on Saturday in Dayton, Ohio, in support of Republican Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.
Read more »
Trump and Democrats Are Pulling for the Same Troubled Candidate in Ohio’s GOP Senate PrimaryAhead of the state’s primary Tuesday, “America First” candidate Bernie Moreno has received a groundswell of support from the former president and a Democratic Party-aligned PAC, with the latter considering him the weakest Republican in the race.
Read more »