COLUMBUS, Ohio — The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Bernie Moreno could be the closest of the battleground contests that will decide which party controls the Senate next year.
The Washington Times interviewed 30 voters across three Ohio counties — Franklin, Fairfield and Delaware — that encompass the capital city of Columbus and some of its suburbs and found they appear to be equally as divided as the polling suggests.
Of the 30 voters, 15 said they supported Mr. Moreno, 14 backed Mr. Brown, and one was undecided but had reservations about the Republican candidate.
That tracks with recent polls showing the Ohio Senate race is effectively tied.
The Times spoke with two dozen voters outside of three county boards of election, the locations where early voting is held in the state. Roughly 1.3 million Ohioans, out of 8 million registered to vote, had submitted their ballots as of Thursday.
The other six voters The Times spoke with while shadowing grassroots group Americans for Prosperity Action door-knocking for Mr. Moreno, including undecided voter Sandy, who declined to provide her last name.
Sandy, who lives in the northern Columbus suburb of Westerville, is a registered Republican who has voted for candidates from both parties over the years. She wants to read more about the Senate candidates before making a decision but has reservations about Mr. Moreno, in part because he is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, whom she dislikes.
Mr. Moreno’s net worth of more than $100 million also makes her question if, like Mr. Trump, he is “another rich millionaire who is going to get involved with politics rather than really care about the people in their district.”
While Sandy could not remember if she voted for Mr. Brown in past elections, she said she had a positive experience with his office helping her work through a Department of Labor issue involving disability benefits for her sister.
’Somebody new’
Mr. Brown has the advantage of incumbency for voters like Sandy. Still, many of the voters backing Mr. Moreno believe the three-term incumbent has been in office too long — a combined 32 years serving in both chambers of Congress.
“Sherrod Brown hasn’t done a bad job overall in his career,” said Stephanie Mathews of Grove City. “It’s just that, No. 1, I think we need somebody new. No. 2, I think we need to shut down these borders. And I don’t think he’s done enough to be proactive in that.”
Mr. Brown won his last race in 2018 against Rep. James Renacci by nearly 7 points. But the state has moved more toward Republicans since then.
Kelly Robberts of Liberty voted for Mr. Brown in that election, saying she didn’t like Mr. Renacci and viewed the incumbent as “the lesser of two evils.”
“And I’m not so sure I’m a big Bernie Moreno fan, honestly,” she said.
Ms. Robberts still voted for him and all Republicans on the ticket because “what the Democratic Party is doing to this country is horrible, and it’s scary, and they’re trying to turn it into socialism.”
She cited immigration among her concerns, saying, “You got to take care of America first. And I don’t think they do, and I don’t think Sherrod Brown does.”
Immigration also came up among some of Mr. Brown’s supporters.
“He has attempted, with other Democrats and some Republicans, to get some legislation passed to begin to address the immigration, but I’m afraid he’s been frustrated,” said David Mansperger of Delaware.
While Mr. Mansperger is currently a registered Democrat, he has switched party affiliations over the years and said he did not vote a straight Democratic ticket when he cast his ballot Thursday. He said he votes on “the integrity, honesty, and the intelligence of the person,” not party lines.
Trump effect
Mr. Brown’s previous race was in a midterm year, as was the most recent Senate contest for the state’s other seat. In 2022, Republican J.D. Vance, now the first-term Ohio senator vice presidential nominee, beat then-Rep. Tim Ryan by 6 points.
This year, the Senate race coincides with the presidential contest, where Mr. Trump is expected to easily win Ohio. He carried the state by 8 points in 2020 and is polling at similar margins now.
Notably, most voters The Times spoke with did not bring up Mr. Trump, although several Moreno supporters cited general support for the Republican ticket.
Ms. Mathews’ husband, Harry Mathews, said he voted for Mr. Moreno and other Republicans to help Mr. Trump “straighten this thing out,” referring to the economy.
A few Brown voters cited their opposition to Mr. Trump as a motivating factor.
“Trump, I don’t want him in there, and I don’t want him to have allies,” said Michael Davis of Columbus. “And I normally don’t vote all blue, but this time I did all blue.”
Theodore Reich of Westerville said he is a registered Republican but now votes for Democrats, including Mr. Brown. “I would never vote for a Republican in this day and age because they’re lined up with Trump,” he said.
Mr. Reich said Mr. Brown does a good job representing Ohio, particularly workers and organized labor. He also cited a friend of his, who he described as a “dyed-in-the-wool Trump guy,” who is supporting Mr. Brown because he helped him with a veteran-related issue.
Several of Mr. Brown’s supporters cited his pro-worker policies as reason for backing him.
“I think he’s been good for the workers. He’s good for Ohio. He’s not one of these flawed candidates that’s only in it for the money,” Peggy Ellwood of Ostrander said, adding, “He’s normal, for God’s sake.”
Abortion
Mr. Brown has spent a lot of time touting his pro-worker bona fides, but he’s also honed in his pro-choice stance as something he hopes will drive support his way a year after Ohio voted, 57% to 43%, to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
But the issue did not come up much in The Times’ interviews, and it didn’t sway any Republicans toward Mr. Brown, although it did help push some further toward Mr. Moreno.
“Abortion is huge for me. I’m 100% anti-abortion,” said Lucia Thomas of Westerville.
Ms. Thomas also said she is “not a fan of any of the transgender stuff because I have a daughter who plays sports.”
She and another Moreno voter both cited their faith as a driving factor in their candidate choices.
“Our votes are not based on people. It’s based on the Word of God,” said Bill Dick of Reynoldsburg, who also took anti-abortion and anti-transgender stances, after voting with his wife, Linda.
Abortion did come up among some Brown voters but ones who were already inclined to support him.
David Hall of Columbus, who votes primarily Democratic but occasionally crosses party lines, said he’s “pretty neutral on Brown” but voted for him because he opposes Mr. Moreno’s stance on abortion, guns and Mr. Trump.
Dawn Jackson, who typically votes Democratic and showed up to vote wearing a “Roe Roe Roe Your Vote” T-shirt, said abortion was a motivating issue for her.
“I just can’t see as we move forward in time how rights are being taken away instead of more rights granted,” she said. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Ms. Jackson also voted for Mr. Brown because he “has spent his entire life working for the people of Ohio,” which she saw firsthand when speaking to him at an event.
“Somebody of greater significance than I came up to talk to him, and he gave the dude the hand — didn’t be like, ’Oh, you’re nobody, let me go talk to the important people,’” she said. “I just felt he’s just such a genuine person.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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