Senate Democrats release ad targeting Ohio GOP candidate Moreno: ‘Even Republicans don’t trust him’

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm released a new ad targeting Ohio Senate GOP nominee Bernie Moreno shortly after he clinched the Republican nomination Tuesday. 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) called the ad “Matter of Trust” and quoted statements from Moreno and his two primary opponents he defeated, state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, at debates they took part in. Dolan and LaRose are shown telling Moreno he can’t be trusted. 

“Even Republicans don’t trust him,” a narrator states. 

The ad attacks Moreno on a variety of policy issues, including abortion, health care and immigration. 

The ad accuses Moreno of wanting to “overrule” Ohio voters, who approved a state constitutional amendment in November protecting abortion rights up to the point of viability, citing comments he has made saying he is “absolute pro-life, no exceptions.” Moreno has said he supports a federal ban at 15 weeks with exceptions for cases of rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother. 

It alleges that Moreno supports eliminating the minimum wage, including a comment Moreno made at one debate saying “at the end of the day, the market” will handle ensuring people make good wages. 

The ad states that Moreno would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and slams his opposition to the bipartisan immigration bill that Senate Republicans blocked from advancing last month. 

The narrator also mentions lawsuits that former employees filed against Moreno, a former car dealership owner, on allegations that he had not paid them proper overtime. The ad further accused him of destroying evidence “to get out of it.” 

Court records have shown Moreno said in a deposition he had records stating if his employees worked overtime for him, but he did not keep them after he sold his dealership. Moreno argued the documents did not have salespeople on them, but he was sanctioned by the judge in the case. 

He was required by a jury to pay $400,000 to two former employees and settled more than a dozen other lawsuits alleging wage theft. 

The Hill has reached out to Moreno’s campaign for comment. 

The ad quotes a statement from LaRose during one debate when he said, “This is a matter of trust.” 

“Ohioans have seen that Moreno can’t be trusted to look out for anyone but himself — and that’s why they’ll reject him in November,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a release. 

Moreno easily won following a messy primary campaign with Dolan and LaRose. He received the endorsement of former President Trump and other top Republicans like Sen. JD Vance (R). 

He will face Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in one of the most hotly contested Senate races this fall. Brown is seeking his fourth term in a state that has increasingly trended red and will likely vote for Trump in the presidential election in November. 

The Cook Political Report considers the race a “toss-up.”