Koch Hispanic group endorses Moreno in Ohio Senate race

The Libre Initiative Action is endorsing Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno on Tuesday, jumping into a key Senate race that could determine the chamber’s majority.

Libre Action is the political arm of the Hispanic advocacy group within conservative mega-donor Charles Koch’s political network.

The Trump-endorsed Moreno is challenging Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a three-term senator facing what is likely to be the toughest race of his Senate career.

“Ohio’s growing Latino community knows that the Buckeye State is a great place to live, raise a family and start a business,” said Lair Marin-Marcum, adviser to the Libre Initiative Action Ohio.

“Unfortunately, Washington policies are making it increasingly difficult for Ohio Latinos to live out their version of the American Dream.”

The Ohio race will lean heavily on economic messaging, with the labor-friendly Brown portraying Moreno as a rich, out-of-touch political novice, and Moreno labeling Brown as a socialist who’s worn out his welcome during 18 years in the Senate.

“We have an opportunity now to retire the old commie,” Moreno told his supporters at a victory party for his primary win in March.

Ohio is not expected to be competitive at the presidential level — former President Trump is all but certain to carry the state — but Democrats are hoping Brown can hold on as the state’s only Democratic statewide elected official.

Marin-Marcum said Moreno, a wealthy former car dealer, will serve to break from “overspending and over-regulation stifling innovation and stymieing economic opportunity for all Ohioans.”

“As a businessman, Bernie Moreno knows that we desperately need to get our fiscal house in order to expand opportunity and prosperity for all — including Ohio’s growing Latino community,” Marin-Marcum said.