GOP candidate delivers blistering closing message as most expensive Senate race in history comes to a close
BELLBROOK, OHIO – Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno is making his closing pitch to voters as one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country and the most expensive in American history enters its final days.
Moreno addressed a large group of enthusiastic supporters on Saturday night in Greene County, Ohio, and also spoke to Fox News Digital about what he hopes undecided voters know about his race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
"Sherrod Brown is too liberal for Ohio," Moreno said. "I'm for Ohio. He's for they/them. The reality is I'm going to work every single day to make the lives of Ohioans better. Sherrod Brown has failed: 200,000 manufacturing jobs lost, Generationally high inflation, instability in every corner of the world. He's for the Green New Deal. He doesn't represent Ohio's values."
"He's too liberal for Ohio. I'm going to make a change. I'll work hard every single day and always remember that voters are in charge."
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After trailing Brown in most polls all summer, Moreno has pulled virtually even with Brown in the last few weeks. Moreno was asked whether he is "nervous" about the race given that the polls are so tight.
"No, because, look, the polls had to be tied with Matt Dolan in the primary and we won by 18," Moreno said. "Now, I don't think it’s going to be an 18-point victory. But based on the energy, the enthusiasm, the early vote, the idea that people just want a change."
"They've been crushed by the last four years. High prices, open borders, instability all over the world. They see the people in Washington, D.C., taking better care of illegal immigrants than American citizens. They see this country sending billions of dollars overseas when we have real needs here. So I think the temperature in the country, in Ohio, they want to change. Now, here’s Sherrod Brown trying to run as a change candidate, which of course, is nonsense, considering they're the party in charge right now. They have been for four years."
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Moreno, who drew a loud applause from the crowd after saying he is looking forward to "firing" Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., assuming Republicans take control of the Senate, criticized Brown for lamenting the idea that "greedy corporations" are generating high inflation.
"Come on, look, you know the greediest organization on earth? Government," Moreno said. "You talk about powerful, greedy corporations? That's the government. You don't love your people and your country when you allow government spending combined with an assault on American energy to drive our prices up so that you can't afford McDonald's."
On immigration, Moreno also made the case that politicians in Washington, D.C., can’t claim to love the country while at the same time allowing millions of illegal immigrants to cross the southern border.
"If you love the people of this country, I mean, when I tell you genuinely love Americans, not just the country, but the people in the country, you don't allow 12 million people to come into this country without being vetted," Moreno said. "Uncontrolled illegal immigration, you just would never allow that if you love this country."
Brown's ads have blanketed the airwaves, hitting Moreno on abortion and his business record, while Moreno has labeled Brown a career politician who is essentially a rubber stamp for the Biden-Harris administration.
"Ohioans know Sherrod has worked with Republicans and stood up to his own party to get things done for Ohio – from taking on special interests to lower costs, to standing up to bad trade deals that shipped Ohio jobs overseas, to passing bipartisan laws to protect Ohioans from dangerous fentanyl," a Brown campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"While Sherrod fights to make sure hard work pays off for all Ohioans, Bernie Moreno has made it clear that he only looks out for himself, refused to pay his own employees the overtime they earned and destroyed the evidence to get away with it, and would overturn the will of Ohioans by supporting a national abortion ban."
The contentious ad campaign between the two candidates has become the most expensive Senate race in American history and is expected to exceed $500 million, eclipsing the $412 million price tag of the 2020 Georgia Senate race between Jon Ossoff and David Perdue, NBC News reported.
Tuesday's Ohio Senate election is expected to play a key role in whether Republicans are able to take control of the Senate, with many believing Brown represents one of the strongest chances Republicans have to do so.
The Cook Political Report ranks the race as a "toss up."