WASHINGTON, D.C. — At age 14, Bernie Moreno already knew everything about the auto industry, so in 1982 he wrote out a three-page letter listing nine points to solve the problems of General Motors. His suggestions included burglar-proof doors and matching Japanese car quality.

To the young man’s surprise, GM’s CEO at the time, Roger Smith, wrote back. He explained point by point why the company would not implement any of Moreno’s suggestions.

The episode did not dampen Moreno’s passion for the auto industry, which would eventually result in a luxury car dealership empire that at one time spanned 15 dealerships representing 30 brands across four states.

Moreno is now running for U.S. Senate to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in one of the most closely watched elections in the country. The Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up, and the result of the election could determine which party controls the Senate.

Moreno’s campaign touts his business success to argue he would translate those skills into lawmaking and statecraft as Senator.

Born to a wealthy and politically connected family in Colombia, Moreno’s parents moved him and his six older siblings to Florida when he was five years old. Moreno said he initially learned about cars to bond with his dad.

His real entrée to the auto industry began as a college student in 1985, when he landed a job at a new magazine, “Automobile.” He quickly developed the nickname “Super Gopher,” explaining the job role of a gopher: “The gopher was exactly what it sounds like—to go for gas, go get the car cleaned, go park it, go make sure get service, go get the oil change.”

After college, Moreno married and worked for Saturn, a GM subsidiary, moving three times.

Everything changed when he met Herb Chambers, the billionaire owner of his own car dealership empire, who hired the then-26-year-old to run one of his Saturn outlets. 

“I knew that I was probably young for that job. I also knew I had inexperience,” Moreno said. “So I would sit in a finance office and do that job so I understand what that job was. I wrote service orders so when a customer came in for lunch, I did that job so that I could properly lead people doing that same duty.”

In 2005 he jumped at an opportunity to buy a struggling Mercedes-Benz dealership in North Olmsted, Ohio.

“Typically, these dealerships are inherited from generation to generation. So for somebody in their 30s, to be able to buy a Mercedes Benz dealership for the first time is absolutely unheard of,” Moreno said.

Before he bought it, the dealership had sold just four cars in one month. In Moreno’s first 18 days, they sold 88 cars.

As sales grew, so did Moreno’s collection of dealerships. He expanded to locations in Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts and Kentucky.

“It was exciting because he’s buying things and buying dealerships. And we were growing,” said Lynn Salagovic, who has worked as controller overseeing payroll for Bernie Moreno Companies since 2011.

Salagovic attributed that growth to customer service and attention to detail.

“The customers all had his cell phone number, so they could call him any time they wanted to talk to him. He was very customer oriented,” she said.

Seeking a new challenge, Moreno began selling off dealerships eight years ago to focus on a new product: digital car titling.

In most states, car titles are available only in physical paper form, which requires time to process and, in some cases, send in the mail.

“We knew that there was a problem in titling and registration and means. And what you have, that problem is you need a formidable system of record that has an immutable record that's highly auditable, that's highly trackable, that people can have a lot of confidence in,” said Shane Bigelow, CEO of Champ Titles, the company he co-founded with Moreno.

Bigelow met Moreno when he moved from New York to Ohio and needed a new car. He went to one of Moreno’s dealerships.

“As a classic New Yorker, I over-negotiated everything. And when you over-negotiate everything, you wind up meeting the owner of a car dealership,” Bigelow said.

The two became friends and in 2018 teamed up to form the digital titling company, which was among the first to use blockchain, then an emerging technology that has since become the basis for countless tech startups.

“Other companies were looking for something to do with blockchain,” Bigelow said. “Ours was the opposite way.”

About 20 states now offer some form of digital titles. Four states currently use Champ Titles to process and store their digital titles, which Bigelow said reduces the time it takes to process new titles, transfer ownership, get insurance and release liens.

The idea to move into blockchain digital titling was innovative, according to Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a nonpartisan think tank.

“It definitely a step forward. Everyone benefits when they don't have to store and process all of these paper documents,” Castro said. “It makes it easier and makes it more secure. It's faster. It's cheaper. There's no reason that all states shouldn't be doing this.”

Moreno also tried to launch a luxury vehicle subscription service, though it never took off.

“The subscription was an idea. it just wasn't a good idea,” he said. “People want to own their own cars. It's different than a pair of shoes or, you know, a piece of luggage. It's a very personal purchase.”

Long involved in local Republican fundraising, Moreno made his first bid for public office in 2022. He entered the Republican primary for U.S. Senate but dropped out at the request of former President Donald Trump, who endorsed J.D. Vance instead.

One year later, Moreno sold his stake in the digital titling company.

“It was sad for me to make the decision to sell my shares in a company, but I firmly believe if you're going to run for public office or be in public office, you shouldn't have any conflicts of interest,” he said.

However, financial disclosures show Moreno still manages a company that is developing a new Mercedes-Benz dealership in the Columbus area. He has said in interviews that if he wins, he would relinquish his stake in the company.

Moreno exited his other businesses a wealthy man. According to financial disclosures, he has assets worth between $38 million to $172.7 million.

He has also earned the lifelong loyalty of some employees.

“It’s kind of like between your principal in high school and your dad. You just wanted to do good,” said longtime employee Lynn Salagovic. “I don't know how you get that from people, but everybody wanted to do well for Bernie. He really promoted you, especially, like, salespeople. He wanted them to do the best they could.”

Moreno’s rise did not come without some feeling burned along the way. That has resulted in more than a dozen lawsuits alleging wage theft, which his critics have seized on in an effort to discredit him.

Moreno has defended his business dealings, saying lawsuits are unfortunately to be expected in any large company.

“Misunderstandings happen in business all the time. I'm extremely proud of my record,” he said.

One lawsuit has drawn particular attention from his opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown. Filed seven years ago by a former employee of Moreno’s Mercedes-Benz dealership in Burlington, Massachusetts, the lawsuit alleged Moreno did not pay the worker overtime for three years.

“I did nothing wrong," Moreno said of the lawsuit. "I followed every single law that's ever done. I never deprived anybody of anything. In fact, paid my people exceptionally well. That's how we succeeded."

But the judge in the case sanctioned Moreno for destroying evidence, including monthly overtime reports, writing, “Whether negligently or intentionally, the Defendants lost or destroyed evidence that they were required to preserve and which they knew or should have known was relevant.”

Previously unreported, court records also show Moreno either lost or destroyed daily schedules that could have been used to corroborate the monthly reports.

Salagovic, who oversaw payroll at that dealership, explained the employees at that dealership earned a six-figure commission-based salary, so they rarely clocked in and out, despite a Massachusetts state law requiring it.

“We couldn’t have recreated them. I mean, we could have. We used an ADP payroll system,” said Salagovic. “But there wouldn’t have been any need to recreate it because half the people didn’t punch in and out, which we were at fault with. Our HR department was at fault with not enforcing that as much as they should have.”

Moreno ended up losing the lawsuit and was ordered to pay $416,000 in damages.

Moreno has attacked the credibility of the judge in the case.

“Unfortunately, we have radical judges," he said, "but we followed every single law, never broke a law.”

When it was pointed out that the judge in the case, Michael Ricciuti, was appointed by former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, Moreno responded, “Well, a Massachusetts Republican is not the same thing as a Republican.”

Salagovic argued it was not fair to hold the ruling against Moreno in his Senate campaign, as he did not personally oversee overtime reporting.

“I was the one that did payroll, and so it should be me in the commercial, not Bernie,” Salagovic said.

Moreno continues to campaign on his business record, an experience that has helped him relate to Donald Trump, another businessman of whom he was once critical.

“Me and 95% of Republicans were critical of Trump in 2015 because we didn't know who he was,” Moreno said. “By 2020 we know exactly that he was a great president, sacrificed everything because he loves this country. “

Former business partner Shane Bigelow said Moreno’s political shift mirrors that of many Ohioans.

“I think everybody evolves in their political background. And I think a lot of times we forget that that's the logic behind it, that you're supposed to represent your constituents and the state of Ohio has tilted in that direction in a big way,” he said.

Trump specifically mentioned Moreno’s business background in his endorsement, which was key to helping Moreno win the Republican primary and could be a major boost for him in November.