ICYMI: Republicans are worried as the Ohio Senate primary breaks out into an all-out brawl [POLITICO] 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

POLITICO: Republicans are worried as the Ohio Senate primary breaks out into an all-out brawl
By Ally Mutnick and Burgess Everett
March 14, 2024

• The Republican Senate primary in Ohio has turned nasty, negative and chaotic. A three-way contest between state Sen. Matt Dolan, business executive Bernie Moreno and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose…has become an all-out brawl in the final leg of the race.

• Moreno compared Dolan to anti-Trump Republicans Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney, and said LaRose will “lie through his teeth to get political power.” Dolan called Moreno a “phony” and he concluded that LaRose’s mishandling of a constitutional amendment on abortion rights “dismisses” him from the race. LaRose said Moreno is “very liberal” and is part of the “corporate elite” and that Dolan is an “anti-gun guy” with a “very shoddy” abortion record.

• Despite the GOP’s best efforts to avoid it, for the second straight election cycle the Buckeye State is home to a bruising intraparty fight, one that Republicans worry could produce lasting damage to the eventual nominee and threaten their chances of flipping the seat — and the Senate. The stakes are even higher than 2022, because there’s an incumbent this time; the winner will have to take on the battle-tested Brown.

• “It’s pretty ugly. Unfortunately, we’re at a phase where there’s a lot of negative advertising. I think, obviously, that will eventually harm the nominee,” said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). “The more negative dollars you spend attacking each other, the more it makes it harder. We’ve certainly learned that the hard way.”
   
• The National Republican Senatorial Committee and its chair, Steve Daines (R-Mont.), urged each of the three campaigns to refrain from going negative until they felt it was absolutely necessary, according to a person familiar with their strategy.  But now, the bloodbath has arrived. Republicans are watching anxiously.

• “Whoever comes out is still gonna have to turn around and run against one of the better campaigners Ohio’s ever seen in Sherrod Brown,” said Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio). 

• Brown has handily dispatched all three of his past Senate opponents, even as the state has grown redder and Trumpier.

• As the primary enters its most brutal phase, the frustration is palpable.

• “They can’t run on a record. They have to run on nastiness and made-up lies,” Moreno said in an interview with POLITICO during the Lake County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner, where the candidates sat at adjacent tables near the front of the room. Minutes later, Moreno took the stage to address hundreds of Republican attendees and attacked Dolan for his endorsements from “RINOs” like Portman and DeWine.

• At times, it’s hard to keep track of the attacks, which have Republicans back in D.C. wincing.

• “It’s a classic trap. And quite honestly, I don’t think that dirtiness helps that much,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “It’s a lot more potential higher cost in a general for not much benefit in the primary.” Tillis added that Brown, whom he called a friend, is “a very formidable opponent.”

• “We expect whoever comes out of that primary will likely be the most extreme and likely be damaged,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chair of the party’s Senate campaign arm.

• The airwaves are swamped with negative disses.
  
• Brown, meanwhile, has been on air for more than a month airing positive spots touting his work to boost Ohio steel, protect pensions and help veterans get health care. He had $13.5 million banked by the end of February, according to his campaign finance reports. That’s several times what any of his GOP opponents had on hand.

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