DAYTON – Former President Donald Trump is heading to Ohio to rally support for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno ahead of the March 19 primary.
Trump will headline an afternoon rally at Wright Bros Aero, in Vandalia near Dayton, on Saturday. The event is hosted by Buckeye Values PAC.
Trump has endorsed the Cleveland businessman in the three-way primary with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Cleveland-area state Sen. Matt Dolan, who earned the endorsement of Gov. Mike DeWine this week.
The winner of the GOP nomination will face third-term Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown this fall. Brown is viewed as vulnerable with control of the Senate in play.
Biden vs. Trump in November
Trump and President Joe Biden clinched their parties’ presidential nominations with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries Tuesday, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want.
The outcome of contests in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington state and Hawaii was never in doubt.
Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition. But the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party’s nomination at the summertime national conventions.
There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. It will almost certainly deepen the nation’s searing political and cultural divides.
Primary drama in Ohio
A slew of Republican candidates on Ohio’s primary ballot are running in solidly red congressional seats, but next week’s elections still promise plenty of drama — especially as the GOP seeks a champion to flip the district of Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.
Democrats also have their own primary challenges in the more urban and solidly-left districts, but those battles have not been as closely watched as the diverse GOP match-ups in the securely red districts.
Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers much of southern Ohio, is ripe for the taking after GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup retired last year. The proverbial hat quickly filled with names to replace him in the solidly red district — 11 Republicans, to be exact.
Voters in Ohio’s 6th Congressional District will actually cast their vote for the seat twice on March 19.
Their votes will decide first who will represent their party in a special election in June to succeed former U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, a Republican who retired Jan. 21 to become president of Youngstown State University.
Their second vote will determine nominees to compete in the November general election for a new congressional term that begins January 2025.