Endorsements and Scandal Could Shake Up Tuesday's Ohio Senate GOP Primary Race

Some last-minute news and endorsements might change who gets elected in Tuesday’s Ohio Republican primary for the Senate.

Currently, the three main contenders in the race are State Sen. Matt Dolan, Trump-endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Last week, three polls were released on the election, showing Dolan and Moreno neck and neck, with LaRose slightly behind. A Hill/Emerson College poll conducted March 7-10 with 1,300 registered voters showed Dolan leading Moreno by 3 points, 26%-23%, and LaRose trailing at 16%.

However, another poll from Ohio Northern University and SurveyUSA, conducted March 6-11 with 1,241 registered voters, showed Moreno beating Dolan by 4 points, 22%-18%, with LaRose again in third at 16%. The most recent poll, conducted by East Carolina University’s Center for Survey Research March 8-11 with 1,298 likely voters, showed Dolan leading Moreno 33%-31%, and LaRose at 23%.

These results were all released before a recent Trump rally last Saturday, where Trump helped campaign for Moreno. During the speech, Trump praised Moreno as a “fantastic guy,” attacked Matt Dolan by calling him a “RINO,” claimed Dolan was trying to become the next Mitt Romney, and reminded the crowd that Dolan had unsuccessfully run as a Democrat for state legislature more than thirty years ago. 

However, the weekend was not entirely positive for Bernie Moreno. The Associated Press reported last Thursday that Moreno’s email was allegedly used to create an account seeking “men for 1-on-1 sex” on a “casual sexual encounters website” called Adult Friend Finder. Moreno’s lawyer has since stated that Moreno “had nothing to do with the AFF account.” Dan Ricci, a former intern for Moreno, took responsibility for the account, stating to the AP that it was “an aborted prank I pulled on my friend and former boss, Bernie Moreno, nearly two decades ago.”