Democrats meddle in Ohio's GOP primary to elevate their preferred challenger

Democrats have tipped their hand as to which Ohio Republican challenger to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) they think is weakest.

Duty and Country PAC, a group affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), will begin airing TV ads that highlights GOP candidate Bernie Moreno's endorsement from Donald Trump and calls him “too conservative for Ohio," which appears intended to boost his profile with Republican primary voters, reported Politico.

“When Ohio voters head to their polling place they deserve to know the truth about Bernie Moreno — and the truth is that Moreno is a MAGA extremist who embraced Donald Trump just like he embraced his policies to ban abortion nationwide and repeal the ACA," said Hannah Menchhoff, a spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC.

Moreno is running against Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, and the ads indicate Trump's pick would be the weakest challenger in the general election.

“Donald Trump needs Bernie Moreno," the ad states. "Ohio doesn’t.”

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The TV spot, which will broadcast in markets across Ohio from Thursday until Tuesday's primary, also highlights Moreno's support for a national abortion ban and the repeal of Obamacare.

Moreno also has endorsements from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who's from Cincinnati and lives near Columbus.

A campaign spokesperson for Moreno compared the Democratic strategy to the dynamic in 2016, when the party felt Trump was the weakest challenger to Hillary Clinton: "The same thing is going to happen to Sherrod Brown this year."