Veteran car dealer Bernie Moreno has earned the Republican nomination for Ohio’s upcoming Senate election, several months after receiving an endorsement from GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Moreno’s victory comes after a grueling primary run against his main opponent, State Senator Matt Dolan, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. All three candidates ran self-funded campaigns and shared common ground on key issues, but it was Moreno who received the most public attention, thanks in part to a late-season Trump endorsement in December 2023.
In January, all three candidates attended a debate during which Moreno’s opponents attacked him for shifting stances on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and for settling a number of wage theft lawsuits shortly before announcing his Senate campaign. However, Moreno easily secured a landslide victory Tuesday, winning approximately half of the total nomination vote. He will face off against thrice-elected Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who this time secured his party’s nomination without opposition, in late 2024.
A Columbian immigrant who moved to the U.S. with his parents as a child, Moreno purchased his first dealership, a Mercedes-Benz storefront located in Ohio, in 2005, but would go on to acquire a total of 15 stores over the next 12 years. Starting in 2016, he began to sell off his dealerships to focus on blockchain technology and to pursue a career in politics. Moreno also co-founded ChampTitles, a title issuance firm, and led the company as chairman for several years before selling his stake.
CBT News has interviewed Moreno on several occasions during both his current and previous campaigns for Ohio’s Senate seat. In his last appearance, recorded shortly before winning Trump’s endorsement, Moreno laid out his goals should he win the election, promising to combat rampant government spending, advocate for a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigration, and support Israel in its conflict with Hamas.
