GOP’s Moreno raises $4M in third quarter in bid to oust Brown in Ohio

Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Ohio business owner, raised more than $4 million for his GOP Senate bid in the third quarter, though a majority of it came from self-financing.

Moreno invested $3 million of his own money and had raised more than $1.1 million from other donors, his campaign said. He now has “roughly” $5 million cash on hand.

“I am proud of the more than $1.1M in fundraising our campaign has done this quarter, and proud to put my own skin in the game with an initial investment of $3M,” he said in the statement.

Moreno announced in April that he would attempt to oust the three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. At the end of the second quarter, Brown raised more than $15 million. Third quarter candidate financial totals will be available from the Federal Election Commission Oct. 15.

“Our campaign is in the strongest position to win the primary and beat Sherrod Brown next fall,” Moreno said in a statement.

He joins state Sen. Matt Dolan in the Republican primary. Dolan reported raising $4.6 million at the end of the second quarter, $4 million of which he loaned to his campaign.

This is the second time Moreno has run for one of Ohio’s Senate seats. He suspended his previous campaign in early 2022, before fellow Republican JD Vance eventually won that race.

Former President Trump has yet to endorse anyone in the race, but he said online in April that Moreno would not be easy to beat.