OHIO — Three Republicans vying for Ohio’s competitive U.S. Senate seat, State Sen. Matt Dolan, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and businessman Bernie Moreno, sat down for a forum hosted by Spectrum News on Feb. 19.

The Decision 2024: U.S. Senate GOP Primary Forum was billed as a forum, rather than a debate, to encourage candidates to talk about the issues rather than attacking one another.

Seated shoulder to shoulder and elbow to elbow, the candidates still managed to sneak in some jabs, starting on the first issue brought up: immigration.

The candidates broadly agreed on tougher enforcement of immigration policy and supported finishing the border wall.

Dolan said sealing the border should be the top priority, followed by deciding the fate of the 10.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

LaRose and Moreno both said all undocumented immigrants should be deported, though LaRose criticized Moreno for calling for a pathway to citizenship in 2016, before he was a political candidate.

“This is why you can’t trust this guy,” LaRose said. “He’s changed his tune. What kind of Bernie are you going to get in Washington?”

Moreno admitted he changed his opinion of former President Donald Trump, who has since endorsed him in the Senate race.

“I’ve been honest where I stood with President Trump back in 2015 and 2016. I think like a lot of Republicans here, there were some people who didn’t support President Trump,” Moreno said. “I’m very happy I was wrong. He was one of the greatest, the greatest president of my lifetime.”

Trump, and his enduring influence over Republican voters, remained the elephant in the room.

LaRose, who had said Trump did not intend to endorse any candidate just a day before the former president endorsed Moreno, said he remains a staunch Trump ally.

Dolan said he would have welcomed Trump’s endorsement but did not seek it out. When asked how he would overcome not getting the endorsement, he focused on his own record.

“This is the most interesting question of the race because I’m the only one up here who without hesitation or doubt can say I voted for President Trump in ’16 and ’20 and I’ll vote for him in ’24,” Dolan said. “I’m seeking to go to Washington to enact those policies, the very same policies we did here.”

The three candidates said they supported some federal restrictions on abortion, despite Ohio voters enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution last November. Moreno revealed he supports a 15-week ban, while Dolan and LaRose remained uncommitted on the exact restrictions they would support.

All three candidates said they would not support raising the minimum wage because it was never intended to be a living wage.

On the opioid crisis, Dolan said fentanyl should be declared a weapon of mass destruction. Dolan called for more substance abuse treatment. Moreno said improving the economy would help alleviate the crisis.

After the forum, all three candidates declared they had won the night. Soon the country will see who won over the voters, about a fifth of whom remained undecided prior to the forum.

The primary is March 19, and early voting starts on Feb. 21.