COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wealthy Cleveland business owner Bernie Moreno has joined the race to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, becoming the second Republican candidate to challenge the three-term incumbent.
The 56-year-old auto dealer and technology executive filed his paperwork Monday. Moreno also ran last year for the state's open U.S. Senate seat and gained an early fundraising advantage, but later dropped out of the crowded GOP primary.
Brown, a staple of Ohio politics since the 1970s, is one of just three Democratic senators up for reelection next year in a state won by former President Donald Trump. Republicans are eyeing the seat as one of their top opportunities for a pickup in 2024.
Already challenging Brown is Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan, of Chagrin Falls, whose family owns baseball's Cleveland Guardians. Dolan has distanced himself from Trump and also ran last year for the seat vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, but finished third in the primary and lost the GOP nomination to JD Vance, who went on to win the general election.
Trump's sway played heavily in last year's race to succeed Portman, following his two strong presidential showings in the GOP-dominated state. After consulting with the former president, Moreno left the crowded and vicious GOP primary to avoid splitting the pro-Trump candidate vote.
Moreno invoked Trump in an apparent campaign tweet Tuesday, pledging to "fight back against the DC Swamp and always put America First." He teased a probable launch event for April 18 in Greater Cincinnati.
Moreno's family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia, and made his name around Cleveland as a luxury car dealer before turning his focus to his interest in blockchain — a ledger for recording cybercurrency transactions — and his related technology company CHAMPtitles. According to his LinkedIn profile, he currently serves as president of his eponymous company and as chairman of the national personal chauffer service Dryver.
His daughter Emily has also served in leadership positions in Cuyahoga County politics and is married to Ohio District 7 U.S. Rep. Max Miller.
Nearly 60% of Moreno's campaign spending last year — about $3.8 million — came from personal funds, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign funding. He was not always an ardent Trump supporter, having tweeted in the mid-2010s that listening to him "is like watching a car accident that makes you sick, but you can stop looking."
In response to Moreno's Senate bid, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following statement:
"The Republican primary for Ohio's Senate seat is heating up and will only get nastier from here as Republicans are forced to sling mud, burn cash and push an agenda that is deeply out of step with Ohioans' values to get ahead. It's clear already that whoever emerges from this primary will be bruised, battered, and unpopular with the voters that will decide the general election."
Watch 3News' 2021 interview with Moreno when he announced his previous U.S. Senate run: