CLEVELAND — Ohio's U.S. Senate race will be in the national spotlight in the Nov. 5 general election as voters will choose between incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and GOP challenger, businessman Bernie Moreno.
The stakes? The result of Brown vs. Moreno may very well decide which party will have control of the Senate for at least the next two years. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate advantage, a split that includes independent senators who caucus with Democrats.
Here's a look at the two men vying to represent Ohio in the United States Senate for the next six years.
Bernie Moreno
A Colombian immigrant, Moreno made his reputation in Northeast Ohio as a luxury car dealer before turning his interests to blockchain technology. He serves as president of his own company and chairman of the national personal chauffeur service Dryver.
The 57-year-old Moreno came back this year for his second attempt at winning the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate after falling short in 2022 to JD Vance. This time, he had the backing of the most influential Republican in the nation: Former President Donald Trump.
"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 in his January endorsement of Moreno. "Bernie Moreno will be an outstanding United States Senator, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement — He will never let you down!"
With Trump's support, Moreno defeated Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to capture the Republican nomination in the March primary. Moreno, in his election night speech in Cleveland, called for party unity while praising Trump. He also set the tone for the fall campaign against Brown with a pledge to "retire the old commie."
During the course of the campaign, Moreno has dealt with several questions about his past business dealings.
In January 2024, the Associated Press reported that three discrimination suits were filed against Moreno in Cuyahoga County between 2015 and 2017. Two accused Moreno and Bernie Moreno Cos. of gender and age discrimination, respectively. The third, in which Moreno was not named, alleged race discrimination against a dealership run by a BMC subsidiary. All three lawsuits identified by the AP were settled out of court, and terms of any resulting settlement deals were kept private. Often, such deals include a clause preventing either side from disparaging the other.
Also in January 2024, Moreno discussed the outcome of a Massachusetts lawsuit that he lost related to overtime wage theft on a radio show. In 3News' VERIFY series, Stephanie Haney showed that Moreno's claims that the Massachusetts Supreme Court overturned federal law were false.
The Ohio Capital Journal also found an additional wage theft lawsuit was filed against Moreno by a former employee.
RELATED: How many times was Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sued during his business career? VERIFY
Like Trump, Moreno has made immigration and securing the nation's border a bedrock of his campaign.
Last month, Springfield, Ohio, was at the center of a national political firestorm following Trump's debate night debunked claim that Haitian immigrants who have flocked to the community over the past five years were stealing neighbors' pets and eating them. Moreno responded by calling for the protected status of legal Haitian migrants in Springfield to be revoked and for them to be deported back to their "violence-riven" country.
Moreno previously described his views on abortion as "100% pro-life no exceptions," but his campaign says he currently supports a 15-week federal ban, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
During a town hall in September, Moreno gained national attention in a viral video where he questioned why suburban women would singularly focus on abortion.
"The left has a lot of single-issue voters," Moreno said. "Sadly, by the way, there's a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women, that are like, 'Listen, abortion's it. If I can't have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.' OK, a little crazy, by the way, but especially for women that are, like, past 50. I'm thinking to myself, 'I don't think that's an issue for you.'"
Sherrod Brown
Born and raised in Mansfield, the 71-year-old Brown has been a fixture in Ohio politics since he was elected as a state representative in 1974. Brown spent eight years in the Ohio House before serving two terms as Ohio Secretary of State. He lost his bid for reelection in 1990, his only election loss to date.
After moving from Mansfield to Lorain, Brown was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 and went on to serve six terms. In 2006, with Democratic momentum at a peak amid the unpopular Iraq war, Brown defeated incumbent Mike DeWine to become a member of the U.S. Senate.
Brown currently serves on four Senate committees, including chairman of the powerful Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He has positioned himself as an advocate for Ohio workers and has fought against what he calls "unfair trade deals," going all the way back to his vote against the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. More recently, Brown has encouraged the Biden administration to stop the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, believing the sale "will make it much more difficult for the U.S. to bring trade cases in support of U.S. steelworkers and take action against bad actors."
Here is how Brown's campaign describes his platform:
Sherrod believes that when you love your country, you fight for the people who make it work. He’s never been afraid to stand up to corporations and special interests to level the playing field for Ohioans — from standing up to Wall Street to taking on Big Pharma. He has worked with both parties to pass some of the most significant legislation in recent years, and he continues to work across the aisle to hold corporations accountable.
Brown has been a close ally of President Biden going back to their time together in the Senate. But in July after Biden's poor debate performance against Trump, Brown joined the chorus of Democrats who called for the 81-year-old president to end his reelection campaign.
"Over the last few weeks, I've heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban. These are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them.
"I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign."
Although Brown is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to defeat Trump for president, he raised several eyebrows by opting not to attend the Democratic National Convention in August. In our VERIFY series, Haney discovered that Brown had attended every DNC since at least 1996.
"We've been planning to be in Ohio for months and Sherrod is looking forward to hearing from Ohioans in Youngstown, Toledo, Cleveland, Chillicothe, and Sandusky next week to discuss his record fighting for the Dignity of Work," a Brown campaign spokesperson told Haney.
Brown's campaign also told 3News that the senator would be willing to campaign with either Harris or running mate Gov. Tim Walz should one or both make a stop in Ohio.
The Associated Press and the Ohio Capital Journal contributed to this report