In Senate Race, Bernie Moreno Finds a Constituency: Car Dealers

As Josh Mandel continues to Tweet rural heartland battle cries like "pastors over politicians" while buying his underpants at grocery stores, Westlake auto dealer and tech entrepreneur Bernie Moreno has scored a significant endorsement in the 2022 race to claim Rob Portman's seat in the U.S. Senate.

Car dealers.

A letter from 15 prominent Ohio auto dealers and industry executives touted Moreno's experience and said that, given the upheaval of the auto industry, they could use a guy like him in Washington. 

"We all know the government ranks have plenty of lawyers and career politicians," the letter read. "They have too few great business minds. Auto dealers know, better than anyone, the necessity of innovation, risk management, customer focus and excellence." 

The signers include Bob Serpentini of Northeast Ohio's Serpentini Chevrolet and Jim Brown of Classic Auto Group. All claimed to have donated the maximum personal contribution of $5,800 and invited others to donate the same.

Most recent numbers have Moreno polling in the vicinity of 1%. Trump idolater Josh Mandel is considered to be the frontrunner, though former state GOP chair Jane Timken is quietly building a statewide campaign infrastructure. Last week, she announced campaign chairs in all of the state's 88 counties.

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