(NewsNation) — NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ has called the race for the U.S. Senate seat for Ohio in favor of Bernie Moreno. See all Ohio race results here.
Three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown was defending his seat in Republican-leaning Ohio against GOP businessman Bernie Moreno, who had won the Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
The Ohio Senate race is one of the tightest and most closely watched races of the 2024 election, barring only a few other races including the race to the White House. Both Democrat and Republican groups have poured money into the race, seeking to prop up their candidate and tip the scales in their favor. The result has been turning the race into one of the priciest Senate races of the election cycle.
Brown has held the U.S. Senate seat since 2007 after defeating two-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine, who went on to be elected as state governor. Brown is a former congressman and former Ohio secretary of state and had been relying on his longevity in office to help garner votes.
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Brown had staked his Democratic position by making himself a leader for the working class and securing key endorsements from labor unions in the state. His policy positions include fighting issues stemming from the border by supporting both the bipartisan border legislation and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act to stem the flow of the deadly drug into the country, restoring abortion access protections and access to fertility treatments like IVF, raising the minimum wage and protecting and creating union manufacturing jobs in his state, among other issues.
Moreno, a former luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur, is a Colombian-born businessman who self-funded much of his campaign. Moreno has pitched himself as a political outsider and immigrant whose family worked their way up. Moreno hasn’t previously held public office. He first ran for U.S. Senate in the 2022 race won by now-Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance but dropped out at Trump’s behest.
As part of his campaign, Moreno laid out 16 issues he said would be his priority if elected, which include: Parental choice in schools, securing the borders, “stop amnesty and destroy the Mexican Drug Cartels,” restoring election integrity, “supporting a ban on late-term abortions,” among others.
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Less than a month before the election, The Hill/ Decision Desk HQ Election Center designated the Ohio Senate race a “tossup” with Brown having a 58% chance of winning reelection in the state. Brown raised more than $51 million and spent more than 42 million, far outpacing Moreno’s $15 million raised and $11 million spent, according to Open Secrets. Ohio was once considered a battleground state but, in recent election cycles, has leaned more to the right. Trump took Ohio in 2020 with 53% of the votes.
A total of 34 Senate seats are up in 2024 with 23 being held by Democrats and independents. Republicans can retake control of the upper chamber of Congress by flipping two seats from Democrats or by winning the 2024 presidential election and voting in just one other seat. As a result, the outcome of this race will affect the balance of power within the Senate in 2025.
