This is now the frontrunner in the GOP primary:
A Republican running in Ohio's U.S. Senate race was sued over a dozen times as the owner of a Massachusetts car dealership amid a broader fight over how businesses paid overtime to commissioned employees in the state.
The suits against businessman Bernie Moreno said he failed to properly pay salespeople overtime when he managed a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Burlington, about 13 miles northwest of Boston. A jury ordered Moreno to pay two employees more than $400,000 in one case, and 14 other cases were settled for an undisclosed amount by January 2023 − just months before Moreno launched his second Senate bid.
Moreno is running against Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, in the GOP primary for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. The primary is March 19.
Moreno first entered the car industry in 2005, when he purchased a struggling Mercedes-Benz dealership in the Cleveland suburb of North Olmsted. He expanded that dealership into a multi-state franchise before pivoting to the world of blockchain technology.
Then came a series of court cases that would shake up Moreno's Burlington dealership. A former salesman sued Moreno and the company in 2017, saying he and other sales employees didn't get overtime when they worked more than 40 hours per week. The dealership allocated overtime wages to employees' base pay when calculating how much to give them based on commission.
That formula for handling overtime was standard practice for dealerships and allowed under federal law, as long as employees earned a certain amount. But in 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determined the practice violated state law − which triggered 16 more lawsuits against Moreno and left employers across the state on the hook.
This Senate race is already looking like a true blue Progressive Populist who is an adamant fighter for workers (U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D. OH)), versus a wealthy MAGA Crypto Bro:
COMPARE THESE ISSUES with the line of attack being developed against Brown by Bernie Moreno, the Republican primary candidate in the Ohio Senate race whose endorsement by Trump (along with Rep. Jim Jordan and Sen. J.D. Vance) makes him Brown’s likeliest opponent this fall. The issue Moreno thinks could sink Brown’s chances with Ohio voters is—wait for it—cryptocurrency regulation.
“A career politician like Sherrod Brown has absolutely no idea how digital currencies work and is the least qualified person possible to regulate the industry,” Moreno has said. A crypto booster, Moreno is branding himself as a tech-friendly, future-oriented leader; Politico reports that he has even paid some of his business taxes using bitcoin. Brown is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and a vehement critic of cryptocurrencies, whose instability and high risk make them attractive investment vehicles to people who have a taste for gambling—or whose financial situation is dire enough to push them to play the numbers. On Wednesday evening, the SEC finally approved a number of “spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds” (ETFs), which Reuters reports will allow individuals and institutions to invest in the currency “without directly holding it.” The decision provides the legitimization that crypto advocates have been seeking for the niche products; it also takes the issue out of Congress’s purview, and, therefore, Brown’s.
Given Moreno’s background and interests, it will likely remain a talking point during his 2024 campaign for Brown’s seat. But the fact that, of all things, this is the first projectile he decided to lob in his political bombardment against the incumbent suggests that the state GOP is short on real ammunition to use on Brown. (It makes sense: What could they know about the man that the rest of Ohio’s voters don’t?) While there’s a lot of enthusiasm for crypto among the young, single, very-online men, it’s hard to imagine the issue meaning much to the older Ohioans whose support determines the outcomes of elections—unless, of course, they’ve been taken in by scammers, in which case they’d like be very sympathetic to the senator’s critical position.
Here’s some more context:
Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of the digital asset industry’s biggest critics and Washington roadblocks, is facing a tough reelection campaign that could make or break Democrats’ Senate majority. Thanks to an endorsement this week by former President Donald Trump, he may well face a general election opponent who’s a major evangelist for crypto technology: GOP candidate Bernie Moreno.
As Senate Banking Committee chair, Brown has warned for years about the risks that crypto poses to consumers and the financial system. He’s one of the toughest obstacles the crypto industry faces in advancing legislation that would help give it regulatory credibility.
Moreno, a former car dealer, has championed initiatives to turn Cleveland into a hub for startups that use blockchain, the digital ledger technology behind crypto. He’s the founder of a blockchain startup and has even paid some of his businesses’ taxes in bitcoin, according to Cleveland.com.
The looming clash is a sign of just how partisan the crypto debate is becoming in the run-up to the 2024 election, with key Democrats voicing skepticism of the industry and Republicans increasingly coalescing around friendly policies that would boost crypto firms. The stakes are high for crypto executives and investors, who are poised to spend more than $78 million to influence upcoming races.
Trump hates State Senator Matt Dolan (R. OH) for not pushing the Big Lie and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R. OH) royally fucked himself betting it all on Issue 1 that Moreno has now become the default choice for establishment Republicans:
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the third-highest ranking Senate Republican, backed Moreno on Tuesday and praised him as a candidate that will “help make America stronger and safer.” He plans to campaign with Moreno in Ohio before the primary.
This is Moreno’s third significant endorsement in recent weeks. Former President Donald Trump backed the former car dealer in December. Then the influential Club for Growth threw its support behind him in January.
Moreno is locked in a contentious three-way battle with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan. The winner of the March 19 primary will take on Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of the chamber’s most endangered Democratic incumbents.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is remaining neutral in the primary. Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) has said he believes any of the three candidates could prevail against Brown.
And the MAGA Deplorables:
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has endorsed Bernie Moreno in his state’s combative Republican Senate primary, signaling consolidation of support around former President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate in one of the biggest races of 2024.
Jordan, a Trump loyalist and a leading figure on the political right in Ohio, announced his support for Moreno in a statement first shared with NBC News.
“Bernie is a true America First conservative, and will make us proud in the U.S. Senate,” Jordan said. “Our country needs common sense conservative fighters now more than ever. Bernie is a political outsider who has lived the American Dream. His perspective, his grit and his conservative values will serve Ohio well in the U.S. Senate.”
By the way, this is pathetic:
During a campaign event last November, LaRose made a video with Protect Women Ohio encouraging voters to reject Issue 1, a ballot initiative made to enshrine reproductive rights into the state constitution. LaRose denounced out of state billionaires for allegedly using their financial influence in the election.
“You know, it’s extreme when people like George Soros and other out of state billionaires are trying to influence this election,” LaRose said.
On Jan. 5, LaRose made an appearance on the “Good Morning America” podcast where he downplayed his campaign’s financial struggles and compared himself to the biblical character David. LaRose also confirmed that his campaign received a massive financial boost from a $3 million donation to the Leadership for Ohio Fund, a super PAC founded by LaRose’s allies.
The donation was made by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, who also helped fund LaRose’s effort to make it harder for ballot measures like the reproductive rights one to pass in Ohio. Uihlein is a GOP megadonor who has contributed tens of millions of dollars to far-right candidates, and his money also helped fund the Jan. 6 March to Save America rally held prior to the insurrection.
Now Brown certainly is in a strong position heading into a tough re-election bid:
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown raised $6.6 million in the last three months, according to numbers first shared with POLITICO, a huge sum which will be critical in his challenging reelection campaign.
And the three-term Democrat has $14.6 million on hand heading into what’s likely to be the toughest race of his career. He's a top target in the battle for the Senate majority, as his state has drifted right over the past decade and left him as the only statewide elected Democrat.
Brown will face the winner of a GOP primary featuring Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan and businessman Bernie Moreno, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Dolan and Moreno have the ability to significantly self-fund their campaigns.
“Sherrod Brown is fighting for Ohio while his opponents fight for the title of largest self-funder — that’s why Sherrod continues to have the momentum in this race,” said campaign manager Rachel Petri.
And Brown certainly has his lines of attack ready:
“It will probably be the most expensive [race in the country] because interest groups all over the country are going to put millions of dollars in, that’s what they do to defeat people like me,” Brown said.
Fundamentally, Ohioans know that Brown is on their side, he said. Brown claimed that he would win his reelection campaign by doing his job and focusing on the dignity of work. He said that he has done this over the years by taking on interest groups and fighting for people.
As the debate between his potential challengers looms, Brown said he would keep his focus on work at the U.S. Capitol, which he said includes rail safety, trade agreements and holding Wall Street accountable.
“I’ll let the rich guys fight it out in the primary,” Brown said.
Brown appeared to be referencing the wealthy backgrounds of his opponents. Personal financial disclosure documents revealed a significant difference in the candidates’ finances in December.
“Two of them are going to spend millions and millions of family money,” Brown said. “I don’t know if they made the money, I don’t know if their family did, I don’t know how many generations of wealth they’ve had. Let them do that, that’s what they’re going to do.”
The candidates that Brown is likely referring to are Moreno and Dolan. Moreno has criticized both Brown and his Republican opponents for growing up in elite or privileged lifestyles despite previously commenting that he himself came from “outsized privilege” and that his father’s family home was “so large that it was converted into the embassy for Germany.” Dolan’s background will be familiar to many, as his family owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.
And Brown is continuing to look out for the people:
Rap and country singer Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord on Thursday told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that a planeload worth of Americans die of drug overdoes each day, but America doesn’t seem to care because it bullies and shames drug addicts instead of dealing with the root of their problems.
“The sad news is that narrative is changing, too, because the statistics say that in all likelihood almost every person in this room has lost a friend, family member of colleague to the disease known as addiction,” DeFord told the committee chaired by Cleveland Democrat Sherrod Brown. “I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I’ve carried of people I love dearly.”
The Country Music Association New Artist of the Year told Brown’s committee he can’t vote because of his criminal convictions, including one for drug dealing, and doesn’t pay attention to politics. He said that makes him an ideal person to discuss an issue that transcends ideology. He said he wants to be part of the solution after being “the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about.”
He said he mistakenly believed selling drugs to be a “victimless crime” and realizes he was wrong now that he’s got a 15-year-old daughter whose mother is a drug addict. He described fentanyl as the worst drug he’s ever seen and said he wonders every day if he’ll have to tell his daughter his mother “became a part of the national statistic.”
He urged Congress to pass a bill introduced by Brown that aims to use financial sanctions to cut off the flow of drugs. The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act that Brown introduced with the committee’s top Republican, South Carolina’s Tim Scott, would direct the Treasury Department to target, sanction, and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations, and those that launder money to facilitate illicit opioid trafficking. The Senate passed the bill but the U.S. House of Representatives hasn’t taken it up.
Click here to contact your representative about FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
Here’s more examples of a what a real Populist looks like:
Health, Democracy and Freedom are on the ballot next year and we need to get ready to flip Ohio Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Brown and his fellow Ohio Democrats campaigns:
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