OHIO — Another Ohio Republican has entered the already crowded 2022 Senate race for Sen. Rob Portman’s seat.
Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland-area car dealer and tech entrepreneur, launched his campaign Tuesday for his first bid for public office. In an announcement video, Moreno, 54, said he plans to fight the “socialist” agenda and run in the shadow of former President Donald Trump.
I’m running for the U.S. Senate. Here’s why this fight is personal to me: pic.twitter.com/C7BFOk0r8t
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) April 6, 2021
He compared New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to “radicals like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara,” and said he plans to protect the U.S. from the socialist left.
The topic he focused on most was immigration, telling the story of how his family came to the U.S. from Columbia as a child to escape socialism.
“This is personal to me. My parents came here legally, because they wanted us to see that in America, we can accomplish anything,” Moreno said in the video.
In a press release from his campaign Tuesday, Moreno pledged to take no corporate PAC money, have strong support for term limits, crack down on China, “protect the victories of Donald J. Trump” and to “fight back against cancel culture’s attempts to silence conservatives.”
Two other Ohio Republicans have launched their campaigns: Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken and former state treasurer Josh Mandel. All three have declared that they’re running on similar principles that Trump had instilled while in office, including stances on immigration, abortion and overseas trade.
No Democrats have formally declared a run, but former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton and Rep. Tim Ryan are considering it. On the Republican side, businessman Mike Gibbons, Rep. Steve Stivers, J.D. Vance, Rep. Bill Johnson and Rep. Mike Turner are also considering a bid.
A slew of local and national leaders have already voiced support of his campaign, including the former U.S. ambassadors to Germany, Switzerland and Morocco, former Health and Human Services Chief Information Officer Jose Arrieta, and retired Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum President Terry Stewart.
 
