COLUMBUS, Ohio — With Ohio’s party primaries behind us, it’s full speed ahead toward the November general election and the race for U.S. Senate is already off and running.

What You Need To Know

  • Bernie Moreno earned more than 50% of the vote in Ohio's Republican primary for U.S. Senate, beating State Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose 

  • Moreno will now challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to represent Ohioans in the U.S. Senate

  • Political experts predict record-setting spending and campaign advertising is in store for this race

Earning more than 50% of the vote in the three-person primary, Bernie Moreno told supporters as Ohio’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, he’s fighting for the nation’s future.

“We’re going to get back to the United States Senate, and then by getting back to the United States Senate, we’re going to put this country back on track,” he said.

Moreno will face off against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November’s election.

“That’s a home run, you know, by any definition and I’m sure the Moreno campaign is absolutely elated,” said David Cohen, political science professor with the University of Akron. “The Sherrod Brown campaign’s actually elated as well, because that’s the opponent that they wanted.”

Cohen said that’s because Moreno lacks political experience and is closely aligned with a divisive figure, former President Donald Trump. Analysts said Trump’s endorsement of Moreno’s campaign will be a turnoff to independent voters, a group Brown historically connects with.

“It’s his message to working class folks, his Dignity to Work campaign,” Cohen said. “And I think in 2024, he has a slight advantage on some policy issues, particularly reproductive rights, which we’ve seen is such an unpopular issue for Republicans and a popular issue for Democrats.”

But even though incumbent seats are typically relatively safe, Case Western Reserve University Political Science Professor Justin Buchler said Brown’s experience can only take him so far.

“He is ideologically not necessarily in step with where Ohio is right now, which is not necessarily to say that Moreno is, but Ohio is not a Democratic-leaning state,” Buchler said.

He said national conditions, like the state of the economy, can affect Brown and other Democratic candidates across the country.

“If inflation does not come down under control, or if unemployment ticks up, or if there is something that really depresses Joe Biden’s approval rating,” Buchler said.

Cohen said Ohioans should prepare for a “slugfest” between both candidates, predicting more money will be spent on this Ohio U.S. Senate race than any other in the state’s history.

“As Ohio goes, so goes the U.S. Senate, because the margin is so close in terms of how tenuous the Democratic Party’s hold on the majority in the U.S. Senate is, that if Republicans were to win the seat, the Democratic Party would have a really difficult time at retaining majority control of the U.S. Senate,” Cohen said.

Cohen said that means voters can expect to see a record number of campaign ads for this race from now until Election Day.