When Donald Trump Jr. took the stage in downtown Mt. Vernon last week, he didn’t waste a beat before explaining why he was there.
“A lot of people, even the campaign people, say, ‘Don, why are you going to Ohio? It’s not a swing state. It’s MAGA country,'” Trump Jr. told the crowd. “And it is. But the reality is this: We need a full slate of Republicans in office to help my father.”
Trump Jr. and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, were among a slate of surrogates who barnstormed Ohio over the past week to get Sen. Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno across the finish line.
Former president Bill Clinton will join Brown and other Ohio Democrats for a rally in Cleveland Monday.
The visitors underscored the high stakes in a $467 million race that’s now the most expensive non-presidential contest on record, according to AdImpact.
On a national scale, the outcome in Ohio could determine which party controls a closely divided Senate. And whether Brown secures a fourth term will forecast what the future holds for Ohio Democrats who have watched the state become more red in recent elections.
“Sherrod Brown gets it,” Beshear told supporters in Cincinnati. “He gets that in this divided country, in this country where you’re always told to pick a side − he, like me, runs as a proud Democrat − but the moment he wins, he takes that hat off and he serves every citizen of Ohio.”
Sherrod Brown, Bernie Moreno make final pitch to voters
Both Brown and Moreno leaned on familiar formulas during the final days of their campaigns.
For Moreno, that meant traveling the state in a large red bus that touts his endorsement from former President Donald Trump, accompanied by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson. During his stops, he argued McDonald’s is a luxury in the current economy and called for the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Moreno also defended himself against lawsuits that accused him of not paying overtime to employees at his car dealerships, which Democrats highlighted throughout the race. A recent video from Brown’s campaign featured a former Moreno employee who called the Cleveland businessman an “opportunistic individual.”
“He wants to take a shot at me for being a car dealer,” Moreno told reporters in Columbus. “Let me tell you what car dealers understand: That the customer rules, the customer’s in charge, the customer is always right. … In politics, the voter’s way down in the basement, and the politician puts himself above that. I’m going to change that.”
Brown, for his part, used his time to court Black voters in Ohio’s largest cities and visit union halls that have anchored his political career. At United Steelworkers Local 2L in Akron, Brown promised to “always fight like hell for the middle class and for workers” and said special interest groups are trying to orchestrate his defeat.
“Their huge amount of money is making this race closer than it should be,” Brown said.
Brown and his allies hope abortion rights will energize voters across the state, particularly in competitive areas like Delaware County near Columbus. Moreno has attracted scrutiny for mocking older, suburban women who view abortion as a key issue and said the Founding Fathers would “murder you” for supporting access to the procedure.
In Cincinnati, Brown touted endorsements from Republicans including former Gov. Bob Taft and argued his opponent’s “hostility to women” is part of the reason for their support.
“That contrast is so clear,” Brown said. “That’s why we’re going to win this race.”
Akron Beacon Journal reporter Derek Kreider contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sherrod Brown, Bernie Moreno make final pitch in Ohio Senate race
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