|
Republicans are looking to erase Democrats' 51-49 majority in
the chamber, and face a geographical advantage as Democrats are
defending a half-dozen seats in competitive states including
Ohio.
The state backed Trump in its last two presidential elections,
and he won by eight percentage points in 2020. Republicans also
hold many major statewide elected offices, both chambers of the
state legislature and the other U.S. Senate seat, which is
occupied by J.D. Vance.
Trump, the Republican challenger to Democratic President Joe
Biden, has endorsed Bernie Moreno, an entrepreneur, in the
primary, appearing at a campaign rally for Moreno on Saturday.
Moreno, who began his business career by buying a car dealership
before branching out to other industries, has also garnered
endorsements from Vance and U.S. Representative Jim Jordan,
another lawmaker from Ohio and the powerful chairman of the
House judiciary panel.
Many observers blamed Republicans' failure to capture the Senate
in the 2022 midterm elections in part to poor performance by
untested Trump-backed candidates including television
personality Mehmet Oz, who lost his Senate contest in
Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman.
Nationally, Republicans have largely avoided messy Senate
primary contests this year, as clear favorites emerged early on
in competitive states. Ohio has been a prominent exception.
Ohio's Republican primary has drawn significant interest. The
primary alone has drawn $48.3 million in ad spending, according
to AdImpact, a firm that tracks political advertising.
While Moreno has held an edge in many of the polls, he faces
stiff competition.
Matt Dolan, a state senator whose family owns Cleveland's
professional baseball team, is also seeking the nomination.
Dolan has secured the endorsements of Mike DeWine, the state's
governor, and Rob Portman, the former U.S. senator for the
state. Dolan's backers say he is best positioned to take on
Brown in the November election.
Frank LaRose, the Ohio's secretary of state, is running for the
seat too. Supporters of LaRose, who was endorsed by Trump in his
run for secretary of state, say he has the most name recognition
as a statewide elected official.
Brown, a moderate who heads the Senate banking panel, is running
unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa
Babington)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
