Ohio's Moreno Among 3 Trump-Backed Primary Winners

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Facts

  • On Tuesday, Republican candidates endorsed by former Pres. Donald Trump, who has clinched enough delegates to earn the GOP presidential nomination, won their primaries in Ohio, Illinois, and California.1
  • Autodealer Bernie Moreno won the Ohio Senate primary, US Rep. Mike Bost held off a primary challenger in his Illinois district, and state Rep. Vince Fong won a plurality of votes in the special election to replace US Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Fong will compete in a runoff in May.1
  • Moreno's victory was crucial because the Ohio seat, which is currently held by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, could determine control of the chamber. Moreno won an expensive race over state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a state Trump won twice.2
  • In addition to his endorsement from Trump, Moreno received support from the Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC — an indication of which GOP candidate Democrats want to face in November. That super PAC responded to Moreno's win by calling him a 'shady car salesman.'3
  • These primary wins came the same night Trump won five more GOP primaries — Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio — adding to his insurmountable delegate total on the way to his rematch with Pres. Joe Biden.4

Sources: 1Forbes, 2USA Today, 3The New York Times and 4FOX News.

Narratives

  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Trump has once again shifted the balance of power in down-ballot races, a sure sign Republicans will enjoy majorities in both the House and Senate to start the former president's second term. Trump's popularity was never more powerful than in Ohio, where he twice helped Moreno pull ahead in a tight race. That should translate to Republicans finally ousting Brown.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Mother Jones. Democrats should celebrate and Republicans should be leery of getting behind Trump-backed candidates in 2024. The unpopularity of Republican policies has increased ever since Trump took office in 2016, with even conservative-leaning states like Ohio rejecting candidates and issues on the ballot that don't reflect their values in the past two midterms and in 2020. Trump isn't the kingmaker he thinks he is.

Predictions