On Monday morning, Secretary of State Frank LaRose officially announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Ohio. He he pointed out he had an announcement to make the night before, which came after months of teasing about such an escape.
The campaign announcement, which lasts just over a minute, features LaRose running as the Ohio native lists his concerns for the country, but also describes how he is “on a mission to give back to a state that has given so much to me.” to “continue to serve the country I love and protect our shared values.”
The ad ends with him meeting his family at the end of the run, with one of his daughters saying, “See, Mommy, I told you Daddy runs.”
It’s official: I’m running. pic.twitter.com/YEs89T9uU4
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) July 17, 2023
LaRose joins the Republican Party primary featuring businessman Bernie Moreno and State Senator Matt Dolan they have already declared. The race is especially worth watching because the winning candidate will face Sen. Sherrod Brown, the vulnerable Democratic incumbent in Ohio. Aside from the state Supreme Court justices, he is the only Democratic incumbent in a state that is becoming increasingly red.
Highlighting LaRose’s candidacy and the state of the race, POLITICO’s report titledOhio’s grubby Republican Party primary has a third candidate” noted that “Dolan and Moreno are self-financing, likely pumping millions into their primary campaigns.”
LaRose, however, argued that the ID would aid him in the race. As he told POLITICO:
“I feel like I have the best chance of beating Sherrod Brown,” LaRose, a Green Beret who is now a reservist, said last week in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington. “We need a candidate who has a strong statewide ID. Only I have it.”
LaRose then took direct aim at his two opponents: “They did well in life and we congratulate them on that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good public servant, a good Senate candidate, or a good senator.
Back in May, before LaRose became an official candidate, Tom Zawistowski, president of the Tea Party-affiliated We at People Convention spoke to American Family News about the difficulties of defeating an incumbent president and how critical it was for the candidate to be recognizable.
“We have Frank LaRose, our secretary of state, who has won state races twice and who will probably have the least money, but his name recognition is about 85%,” he added. – said Zawistowski. “It’s likely that the only person who can beat Sherrod Brown is Frank LaRose.”
Polls, including those conducted by the Louisiana-based Causeway Solutions for Leadership for Ohio Fund, show Ohioans are largely undecided, but LaRose has more support than other candidates. The group supported LaRose’s work as secretary of state, as well as his role used Down defend election integrity. LaRose also raised money for the Columbus Dispatch group reported.
Some East Carolina University Poll conducted last month also found that Ohioans are largely undecided, but LaRose has 17% support in a hypothetical primary compared to Dolan’s 14% and Moreno’s 7%.
That poll also shows Brown leading Dolan 45 to 44 percent, while the incumbent leader leads LaRose 44 to 42 percent. Brown leads Moreno by 46 to 42 percent.
The survey description quoted Jonathan Morris, senior poll specialist at the Center for Polling Research, who emphasized the importance of this particular race. “Although Ohio has moved significantly more toward Republicans over the past decade, Sherrod Brown still has enough statewide appeal to make this a very close general election. We suspect all eyes will be on this contest as it could determine control of the United States Senate in November 2024.” Morris said.
Rose he easily won re-election last November by 20 points and was the only incumbent secretary of state to receive the endorsement of former and potentially future President Donald Trump.
But Trump also took notice of Moreno’s campaign, which he talked about on TruthSocial. Moreno is the father-in-law of Republican Max Miller, a Trump-backed congressman who was a former adviser to the president. He currently represents Ohio’s 7th Congressional District.
Both Moreno and Dolan ran in the Republican primary to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), although Moreno dropped out. Dolan finished third in last year’s Republican primary, just behind former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. Mainstream mass media saw as AND bonus Down Dolanaalthough apparently Ohio voters did not.
Now Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has won the primary and endorsed Moreno in this race.
While Ohio is certainly a state to watch in a year where the Senate map appears very favorable to Republicans, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines (R-MT) has full faith in each candidate. As Daines told CBS News last week when it was assumed LaRose would enter the race, the NRSC is remaining neutral in this primary because it believes either of them can beat Brown. As Daines explained, “they’re not staying up late worrying about this race.”
