2024 presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump offered support for Ohio Republican businessman Bernie Moreno‘s intended run for Senate on Wednesday.
Moreno filed paperwork on Monday with the Federal Election Commission to run for Senate in 2024 and will challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
In a post on Twitter, Trump offered encouragement for Moreno (pictured above), saying that “he would not be easy to beat especially against Brown.”
“Word is that Bernie Moreno, the highly respected businessman from the GREAT STATE of OHIO, and the father-in-law of fantastic young Congressman, Max Miller, is thinking of running for the Senate. He would not be easy to beat, especially against Brown, one of the worst in the Senate!” Trump said.
Trump has not yet invested as much energy in the 2024 Senate races as he did in 2022, where his support last year propelled novelist and venture entrepreneur U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) out of a crowded and chaotic race and into an open Senate seat. Although this is not an endorsement, it shows that Trump is closely watching the candidates running or preparing to run for Senate in Ohio.
Republican State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), who finished third in last year’s primary election, has also announced his candidacy. Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose told The Ohio Star that he is also actively considering running.
In 2022, Moreno ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Senate before withdrawing from the race before the primary. After meeting with Trump, who would later support one of his opponents, Vance, he decided to withdraw.
Moreno’s daughter Emily Moreno Miller worked on Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign and last year married U.S. Congressman Max Miller (R-OH-07), another former Trump aide.
In 2021 Moreno stated that he would be honored to have Trump’s endorsement.
“I would be honored to have Donald Trump’s endorsement. He’s the leader of the Republican party. He’s very popular in the Republican party. He’s very popular in Ohio,” Moreno said.
“Thank you sir!” Moreno tweeted later Wednesday, referencing Trump’s post.
Moreno is expected to officially kick off his campaign with an event next week near Cincinnati.
Since Ohio has shifted to the right in statewide and federal races since 2016, Brown is one of the more vulnerable Senate Democrats in the 2024 cycle.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and . Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Bernie Moreno” by Bernie Moreno.
