Editor’s note: Every Tuesday leading up to November 5th, we’re examining a different issue at stake in the election. This week, we’re looking at the roots of the candidates in Ohio’s senate race: incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Bernie Moreno.
On a sunny September afternoon, supporters of Senate candidate Bernie Moreno cheered as he entered a campaign townhall at a Lorain manufacturing plant.
As Moreno took the podium, a Skylift digger derrick machine delivered him a stainless-steel plaque with his name inscribed.
“Everyone gets a free Mercedes-Benz from Mr. Jarmoszuk,” Moreno, a former luxury car dealer, joked, referencing the owner of the plant.
He began his stump speech telling the crowd about his beginnings – moving from Colombia, South America, where he was born, to Florida.
“And this is something I've never had to say up until about five or six years ago – my family came here legally,” Moreno said as the crowd cheered again.
Moreno rose to prominence in Ohio as a luxury car dealer and tech entrepreneur. Now, he's got a new sales pitch - this time, for Ohio voters. He's hoping to unseat Democrat Sherrod Brown, who has served three terms in the U.S. Senate.
“He really wanted a bigger vision”
Moreno’s Ohio journey began back in 2005. He left his job at a Massachusetts dealership and purchased an under-performing Mercedes-Benz dealership in North Olmsted, on the west side of Cuyahoga County.
In past interviews and speeches, he’s acknowledged it was a risk to invest nearly all his money into a luxury car dealership and move his family to a new state.
But, the risk paid off. That dealership became one the most successful in the country, with an all-star clientele like LeBron James and other professional athletes.
Former customers and employees say Moreno was a personable and persistent salesman. Bob Meilander, chair of the Lorain County Republican Party, bought his first Mercedes from Moreno in 2014.
“His office was right in the center of the showroom there, basically, and he came out personally to introduce himself,” Meilander said. “My wife is from Brazil, so they kind of had a connection, and from then on, the service was absolutely wonderful.”
Following the success of that dealership, Moreno purchased dozens more across several states. Though Moreno had sold nearly all his dealerships by 2018, his presence is still felt throughout.
At the flagship North Olmsted dealership, big signs still hang on the wall in the employee breakroom that list "Sales Commandments" – a brainchild of Moreno’s.
Moreno focused on providing a luxurious experience for customers, said Matt Paradis, commercial brand manager who started working under Moreno in 2012.
“You could always tell that it was more five-star versus, you know, just a small, hometown dealership. He really wanted a bigger, bigger vision,” Paradis said.
He also had an impeccable memory and didn’t let you forget mistakes, he said.
“He was stern sometimes. You’d get in trouble, and he’d really put you on ice sometimes,” Paradis said. “To me, that was a leader that really cared, though, you know, to get his point across.”
Moreno was a fast talker, and hard to keep up with at times, Paradis added.
And, he was known for occasionally expanding too fast.
“Maybe some would say that he ran before he walked,” Paradis said.
Other employees at the dealership declined to be interviewed.
Tech entrepreneur turned politician
After selling most of his dealerships, Moreno turned to blockchain, the technology that keeps track of cryptocurrency transactions. His vision was for Cleveland to be a hub of new uses for the tech.
But after six years, “Blockland” seems to have stalled. Efforts fizzled out after Moreno got into politics, Cleveland Scene reports.
Now, Moreno has new ideas for the state he’s called home for nearly 20 years.
He says he's an outsider, not a career politician. He wants to tackle illegal immigration and fix inflation.
At the rally in Lorain, he talked about rising prices, such as sandwiches at McDonald's.
"Going out to eat at McDonald's should not be a luxury," he said.
If Moreno wins the race, the most recent data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows he’d be one of the wealthiest members of Congress, based on his estimated net worth.
Detractors, like the United Auto Workers Union, say that puts him out of touch with the average Ohioan.
Bob Meilander of the Lorain County GOP thinks otherwise.
“We need more business leaders, people in business, not politicians. There’s too many politicians running this country, and we see where we’re at right now,” Meilander said.