Bernie Moreno Enters Republican Race To Succeed Sen. Rob Portman

Northeast Ohio car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno is entering the Republican contest to replace Sen. Rob Portman.

Moreno announced his Senate bid in a Youtube video Tuesday morning, framing his campaign around pledges to institute term limits, to “stop socialism” and to “end cancel culture.”

“Biden, Harris, the extreme left, their allies in the media, Big Tech and universities push socialism at every turn, using cancel culture to completely silence us,” Moreno says in the video, over images of the president and vice president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Oberlin College and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“That’s not what drew my family to America. This is personal to me,” he says.

Moreno moved to the United States with his family from Colombia when he was a child. He built up a luxury car dealership business, selling many stores in 2019 to focus on technology. He is the chairman of tech company Ownum and was part of pre-pandemic plans to redevelop Tower City as a home for technology businesses.

Even a year out from the primary, the Republican field is quickly filling with candidates. They include former state treasurer Josh Mandel and former state GOP chair Jane Timken.

Names floated as potential Democratic candidates include Rep. Tim Ryan, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and former Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton.