Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican businessman Bernie Moreno on Tuesday in the Ohio Senate primary to challenge Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) next year.
Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social platform, calling on Republicans to coalesce around his candidate of choice in the three-way GOP primary.
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“It’s time for the entire Republican Party to UNITE around Bernie’s campaign for Senate, so that we can have a BIG victory in what will be the most important Election in American History,” Trump said.
“Remember, we need a successful political outsider like Bernie to defeat Liberal career politician, Sherrod Brown, who has so poorly represented Ohio,” he continued.
Moreno, an Ohio-based businessman with ties to the former president, declared his candidacy in early April, two years after agreeing to sit out the 2022 race as it became clear Trump was planning to endorse Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). The Trump ally eventually went on to back Vance himself, helping prep him for general election debates and raise funds.
Trump praised Moreno ahead of his campaign launch, but he withheld an endorsement of the self-proclaimed political outsider until Tuesday. Vance, meanwhile, had endorsed Moreno in late May.
Competing against Moreno are Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, both of whom have largely distanced themselves from Trump in their Senate bids.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been wading into Montana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia's 2024 GOP primaries to ensure the most electable candidates are selected. The party's Senate campaign arm stayed out of the Ohio primary, however, because leadership viewed all three candidates as capable of beating Brown.
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“President Trump’s endorsement is the most powerful endorsement in politics, so this will certainly be a huge benefit to Bernie Moreno," NRSC spokesman Mike Berg said in a statement on the news.
For his part, Brown's reputation as an unabashed progressive in an increasingly red state has made him a prime target of Senate Republicans as they look to reclaim control of the upper chamber. Despite benefiting from the power of incumbency, strong name recognition, and high approval ratings, Brown's 2024 race will be the highest-profile fight of his career as a Democrat in a state Trump won by 8% in 2020.