Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, right, greets Ohio Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno during a rally at the Dayton International Airport on March 16, 2024 in Vandalia, Ohio. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Moreno's barbs came two days after Trump – who parachuted into the state to headline a rally for Moreno – insulted Dolan as a "weak RINO" [a derogatory acronym which stands for "Republicans in name only"] and charged that the state senator is "trying to become the next Mitt Romney."
TRUMP AND TOP ALLIES MAKE FINAL PITCH IN CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY
As Moreno was wrapping up a campaign swing with two top Trump loyalists and America First all stars – Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Arizona Senate candidate and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake – Dolan was teaming up with two-term Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator and state attorney general.
"The person who clearly has the best shot at winning in the fall is Matt Dolan," DeWine told the crowd at a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio's capital city, as he argued that Dolan is the strongest candidate to take on longtime Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.
Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, center, is joined by Arizona Senate candidate and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio at a campaign event in Milford, Ohio, on March 17, 2024. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)
"President Trump, Jim Jordan, and JD Vance's view of the party, which is who's endorsed me or do you want to go back to the Bush, Cheney, Mitt Romney vision of the party?" Moreno told Fox News Digital at a campaign event in Milford, Ohio, on Sunday night. "That's the question. A vote for Dolan is a vote for 1980s Republicans that we thought were extinct, but unfortunately they haven't. But on Tuesday, we'll make it finally extinct here in Ohio."
Moreno, an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally from Colombia and became a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant, was endorsed by Trump in December.
"We're going to have President Trump in the White House, that's for certain," Moreno predicted. "But what we need is strong fighters in the Senate to make sure we get the [Trump America First] agenda implemented."
Dolan, along with Moreno, is making his second straight bid for the Senate in Ohio. Additionally, Dolan, who is the only one of the three major candidates not to seek Trump's endorsement, has highlighted that he is a supporter of Trump's policies but not the former president's personality.
"I’m the only one in this race that’s cut taxes and reduced regulations. Who else has done that? Donald Trump," Dolan highlighted in a Fox News Digital interview in Columbus on Monday. "Everyone wants to talk about Donald Trump’s endorsement. I’m the only one who’s actually done Donald Trump policies because it helps Ohio."
"Bernie wants to be divisive. I want to be inclusive of all Republicans," Dolan claimed. "I’m not interested in dividing the Republican Party. I’m interested in when we put conservative agendas in place, Republicans win. When that happens, Ohioans and Americans are better off. That’s the message I’m running on."
Millions have been spent by the campaigns and aligned super PACs – mostly on behalf of Dolan and Moreno – to flood the airwaves with negative attack ads.
LaRose has criticized both of his wealthier rivals, but he has not had the financial firepower to keep pace with Dolan and Moreno.
"I'm the one that Sherrod is the most afraid of. It's pretty clear and the old saying is they only try to tackle you when you have the ball," LaRose claimed in a recent Fox News Digital interview. "The Democrats have been attacking me because they know I'm the most dangerous weapon against Sherrod Brown."
In the closing stretch, Democrats started meddling in the Ohio GOP primary.
Duty and Country PAC, which is funded by Senate Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting Senate Democrats, dished out nearly $3 million in the final days ahead of the primary to run ads boosting Moreno, whom they view as the weakest general election nominee.
There was another major development in the primary race last week, as The Associated Press published a report claiming that an adult hookup website account was created in 2008 using an email linked to Moreno.
Pushing back against the report, Moreno called it "a sick, last-minute attack by desperate people."
Former President Trump speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
"Donald Trump is the most important endorsement in Ohio, bar none," longtime Republican strategist and 2016 Trump campaign veteran Mike Biundo emphasized.
Biundo, who has worked on multiple campaigns in Ohio, told Fox News that "Trump moves numbers and helps to hand victories to those he endorses. It’s just a fact. Just look at Senator JD Vance. He owes his seat to the last minute Trump endorsement."
An Ohio-based Republican consultant, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, called the Republican primary "a litmus test" of Trump's sway over the GOP.
"The real question is whether President Trump's endorsement still carries weight with Republican primary voters in Ohio," the consultant said. "It's that simple and straight forward and I think ultimately the answer is yes."
The showdown in Ohio is one of the few major down-ballot GOP primaries where the Trump-backed candidate is at risk of losing.
"Trump's got a lot invested in Bernie Moreno," veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman said.
And longtime Ohio-based GOP consultant Mike Hartley, who remains neutral in this year's primary, told Fox News "it's important to Trump, evidenced by the fact that he came into the state, just like he did for JD Vance."
Fox News' Deirdre Heavey and Jamie Vera contributed to this report.
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