Trump ally Bernie Moreno wins Republican primary for U.S. Senate from Ohio

Bernie Moreno, an ally of Donald Trump, has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Ohio and will face Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, a longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, in November.

Moreno won Tuesday’s primary over two more traditional Republicans, state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. With 93 percent of the vote counted, Moreno had 50.5 percent, Dolan 32.8 percent, and LaRose 16.7 percent, according to The New York Times.

Moreno is a car dealer and political newcomer. He once expressed LGBTQ-friendly views; he supported the Gay Games when the event was held in Ohio in 2014, both financially and with an opinion column in Crain’s Cleveland Business. But more recently his public stances have taken an anti-LGBTQ+ turn.

He also faced scrutiny over a profile that appeared briefly on a dating website called Adult Friend Finder in 2008, seeking sexual liaisons with men, as reported by the Associated Press. His team has told The Advocate, the AP, and other media that the profile was created as a prank by an intern at Moreno’s business.

Moreno was a critic of Trump just a few years ago and once said he could never vote for Trump, according to CNN’s KFile. But now he and the former president are supporting each other enthusiastically.

Brown is one of the Republicans’ top targets this year, as Ohio is trending increasingly conservative and he is its only remaining statewide Democratic elected official, other than judges. He is still popular, however, while continuing to take progressive positions, including support for LGBTQ+ rights. He has had a string of perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard during his three terms in the Senate. He had no opposition in the Democratic primary.

Leading up to the primary, a Democratic group ran ads highlighting Moreno’s conservatism and his connections to Trump. This suggests the party “viewed him as the weakest candidate against Brown,” CNN reports.

A few other states were holding primaries Tuesday, mostly presidential preference primaries, but some for down-ballot races. In Ohio, transgender candidate Arienne Childrey, a Democrat, won her primary for the state House of Representatives in District 84 with no opposition except a write-in campaign. She was once threatened with disqualification from the race because she did not list her deadname on her paperwork, but her county elections board decided not to disqualify her.

In November she will face Republican incumbent Angela King, who sponsored a bill to ban drag shows in certain venues (and subject performers to criminal penalties), which has stalled, and supported legislation restricting gender-affirming care and trans participation in school sports, which passed when lawmakers overrode Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto.

Another out candidate for Ohio House, gay man Eli Bohnert, lost the District 6 Democratic primary to Christine Cockley.

In Illinois, out officeholders Eric Sorensen (U.S. House), Kelly Cassidy (Illinois House), and Mike Simmons (Illinois Senate), were all unopposed in their primaries. All are Democrats.