Moreno, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is set to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. The race will likely determine which party controls the Senate next year.
It’s a victory not just for Trump, but for Democrats, who spent $3.1 million in the final days of the race on TV and digital ads designed to boost Moreno’s profile with GOP primary voters.
It was the latest example of a tried-and-true tactic that Democrats have employed in recent years, meddling in GOP primaries to try to elevate the candidate who they believe they’re most likely to beat.
Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who endorsed Dolan, called Moreno the “weakest candidate” in the race after the Democratic spending became public.
Moreno scored Trump’s endorsement months ago, but had faced tougher than expected competition from State Sen. Matt Dolan, a more Trump-skeptical candidate. Frank LaRose, the current Ohio Secretary of State, came in third.
It was enough to convince Trump to travel to Dayton for a rally, where he made the now-infamous “bloodbath” comments.
In the final days of the race, Moreno and Trump’s allies relied primarily on the former president’s endorsement in making his case to GOP primary voters.
“President Trump wants Bernie,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told rally attendees on Saturday, saying the endorsement “should be enough reason” for them to support Moreno. “You’re gonna want President Trump in Ohio a lot. He’s gonna come here a lot if you get Bernie to be the victor on Tuesday.”
But Moreno is emerging from the contentious primary with potential vulnerabilities.
In the final days of the race, the Associated Press reported that Moreno’s work email was linked to a short-lived profile that sought “Men for 1-on-1 sex” on an adult dating website in 2008.
Moreno’s campaign has blamed the incident on a prank by an intern, and his high-profile supporters have largely dismissed the story as a smear.
The former car dealership owner has also faced several lawsuits stemming from his time in the industry, including being sanctioned by a Massachusetts judge for shredding documents that may have been relevant to a wage theft lawsuit he was facing.
