Trump helps narrow field in crowded Ohio Republican Senate primary

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He has yet to make an endorsement in Ohio's competitive and expensive Republican Senate primary, but former President Donald Trump is helping to narrow the field.

Trump appeared to be instrumental in move by Republican businessman Bernie Moreno, one of roughly a half dozen of the major contenders in the GOP primary, to suspend his campaign. The Republican fight to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman has become a battle by most of the leading candidates to showcase their support and loyalty to Trump hopes of securing the former president’s endorsement.

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Moreno, a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant who shelled out over $4 million of his own money the past two months to run TV commercials to try and boost his Senate bid, suspended his bid after requesting and holding a private meeting with Trump.

Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno speaks to the Coshocton County GOP  on Aug. 22, 2021. (Bernie Moreno Senate campaign)

"I am a businessman, not a politician. Business leaders recognize patterns before they happen. After talking to President Trump we both agreed this race has too many Trump candidates and could cost the MAGA movement a conservative seat," Moreno explained in a statement Thursday night.

And minutes later Trump, in a statement, praised Moreno doing much "for Ohio and loves his State and our great MAGA Movement. His decision will help ensure the MAGA Ticket wins BIG, as it is all over the Country. Thank you, Bernie, for your support and keep fighting!"

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Moreno’s departure, with three months to go until Ohio’s May 3 primary, doesn’t end the full court press by the other top contenders to tout their Trump credentials in hopes of landing the former president’s backing which would be a game changer in a party where Trump remains the most popular and powerful politician.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Canyon Moon Ranch festival grounds in Florence, Arizona, southeast of Phoenix, on Jan. 15, 2022. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

The remaining large lineup includes former Ohio treasurer and former two-time Senate candidate Josh Mandel; former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken; 2018 Ohio Republican Senate candidate Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland entrepreneur, real estate developer and investment banker; and best-selling author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance. Another candidate in the field of leading contenders - Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan, whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians – is not making a play for Trump’s support.

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The intra-party fistfight in Ohio’s an expensive one. Besides Moreno’s $4 million infusion, Gibbons has dished out over $11 million of his own money to finance his campaign and Dolan’s poured in more than $10 million, with Timken spending a couple million of her own. 

Club for Growth Action, an outside group backing Mandel, has spent freely in the race to target rival candidates. And a super PAC supporting Vance is fueled by a massive $10 million contribution from PayPal co-founder and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Vance’s former boss.

The Ohio Democratic Party told Fox News that Moreno's departure "only highlights how chasing an out-of-state endorsement instead of focusing on Ohioans has made this crowded primary nasty and chaotic."

And spokesperson Michael Beyer argued that "in order to stand out, the out-of-touch millionaires will be forced to take unpopular positions and deepen nasty feuds that will harm whoever emerges from this clown car Republican primary."  

The Democratic Senate primary – in comparison to the GOP slugfest – has been a sedate affair.

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Longtime Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of northeastern Ohio is the front-runner in a small field of contenders that also includes progressive Morgan Harper, a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau senior adviser and 2020 congressional candidate,

Whoever wins the GOP primary will likely be considered the favorite in November’s general election in Ohio, a one-time premiere battleground state that Trump won by eight points in both his 2016 presidential election and his 2020 reelection defeat.