Published
Former President Donald Trump was a big winner this week, not only in the presidential primaries in a handful of states across the country, but also in a number of highly contested down-ballot showdowns.
And victories by Trump-endorsed candidates in some high-profile Senate and House primaries delivered further proof of the former president’s immense sway over the GOP.
“An endorsement from Donald J. Trump is the most powerful endorsement in modern political history,” Bernie Moreno emphasized in an exclusive Fox News interview minutes after he won the Republican Senate primary in Ohio. “There’s never been anything like it before – probably won’t be anything like it afterwards.”
Moreno, a Cleveland-based business leader and luxury auto dealership giant, rode Trump’s endorsement to victory in Tuesday’s primary in a costly and contentious battle.
“I want to thank President Trump for all he did for me, for this campaign, for his unwavering support,” Moreno said in his victory speech. “I wear with honor my endorsement from President Trump.”
Moreno’s victory in a bruising nomination fight over state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose propelled him into a general election showdown against longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race that may determine if Republicans win back the Senate majority in November.
The Senate primary in its closing days was framed as a showdown between Trump and the MAGA/America First wing of the party, which rallied around Moreno, vs. the conservative establishment, which supported Dolan. And it was also viewed as a test of Trump’s clout over the Republican Party.
Trump returned to Ohio three days ahead of the primary, after Dolan surged in the polls and landed the endorsement of two-term Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman, part of the state’s Republican old guard.
Headlining a rally for Moreno outside Dayton, Trump claimed that Dolan was a “weak RINO” [a derogatory acronym which stands for “Republicans in name only”].