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Bernie Moreno
American politician and businessman (born 1967) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bernardo Moreno (/məriːnoʊ/ mər-EE-noh; born February 14, 1967) is a Colombian-born American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the senior United States senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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Moreno was born in Colombia to a family that soon immigrated to the United States, where he grew up in Florida. After attending the University of Michigan, he began a career in business. In 2005 he moved to Ohio, where he ran several car dealerships, mostly in Greater Cleveland, before becoming involved in blockchain companies in the late 2010s. He previously ran for Senate in 2022, but withdrew before the Republican primary. In 2024, Moreno defeated three-term incumbent Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. He became Ohio's senior senator after JD Vance resigned to become vice president of the United States.
He is the first Hispanic American senator from Ohio, as well as one of the first two Colombian American U.S. senators, along with Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
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Early life, family, and education
Moreno was born in Bogotá, Colombia, on February 14, 1967.[1][2] His father, Bernardo Moreno Mejía, was a physician and held high-ranking positions in the Colombian government. When Moreno was five, the family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was raised.[3] His father worked as a surgical assistant, and his mother was a real estate agent. Moreno became a U.S. citizen at age 18.[4]
Moreno attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration.[5] After it was publicized that his Cleveland Foundation biography incorrectly included a Master of Business Administration degree, his Senate campaign blamed the error on "a staffer who made a mistake".[6][7]
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Early career
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After college, Moreno worked at General Motors.[8] At 26, he moved to Massachusetts[9] to become the general manager at The Herb Chambers Companies, a car dealership for the General Motors division Saturn.[10]
He relocated to Ohio in 2005 and bought a Mercedes-Benz dealership in North Olmsted near Cleveland.[11][12][13] Moreno was the president of the Collection Auto Group, a car dealership company.[14] By 2016, he owned more than a dozen dealerships, mostly located in Ohio.[15] In 2019, he began to sell a number of his dealerships to focus on his new blockchain-based technology company, Ownum.[16]
In 2018, Moreno established the Sales Center for Excellence at Cleveland State University.[17] In 2019, Moreno was elected to the Cleveland Business Hall of Fame[18] in Cleveland Magazine.[19]
Moreno was appointed to the board of trustees for the MetroHealth System in October 2019 and served until he resigned in February 2021 to focus on seeking public office.[20][21]
In 2023, Moreno settled over a dozen wage theft lawsuits prior to launching his U.S. Senate campaign. He was ordered to pay over $400,000 to two former employees. He was rebuked by a state judge for shredding documents potentially related to the case.[22]
A March 2024 report found that Moreno had faced two lawsuits alleging gender and age-based discrimination; Moreno's campaign responded by saying both employees who sued him supported his Senate campaign.[23]
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U.S. Senate
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Elections
2022
In April 2021, Moreno entered the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring incumbent Rob Portman.[24] On February 3, 2022, Moreno dropped out of the race, reportedly after meeting with Donald Trump.[25]
2024
On April 10, 2023, Moreno filed paperwork to run for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat in the 2024 election.[26] Donald Trump endorsed Moreno in December 2023.[27] Moreno won the Republican primary on March 19, 2024, defeating Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose.[28] Moreno defeated incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown in the general election. During the general election campaign, the crypto industry spent more than $40 million in support of Moreno's campaign.[29] Brown was considered adversarial to the crypto industry.[29]
In the run-up to the Republican primary in March 2024, the Associated Press reported that an account on Adult FriendFinder had been created in 2008 using Moreno's email, soliciting "men for 1-on-1 sex". The profile listed Moreno's date of birth, and geolocation data indicated that it was set up for use in a part of Fort Lauderdale where property records show Moreno's parents owned a home at the time.[1] In a statement Moreno's lawyer provided to the Associated Press, a former intern said he created it and called it an "aborted prank".[30]
Tenure
Moreno was sworn in on January 3, 2025, as a junior U.S. senator in the 119th United States Congress. When JD Vance resigned from the Senate on January 10 to prepare to take office as Vice President of the United States on January 20, Moreno became Ohio's senior U.S. senator. In April, Moreno negotiated a year-long delay in the closure of the Chillicothe Paper Mill with H.I.G. Capital.[31]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:[32]
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Political positions
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After the 2020 presidential election, Moreno criticized those denying the results of the election, but in 2021 expressed his belief that the election had been "stolen".[33]
Moreno has said energy is a top priority, expressing support for using coal, oil, and extracted natural gas, as well as building more nuclear plants.[34] He previously expressed support for background checks for gun owners and in a 2019 interview said "What gun do you need with 100 bullets in it?" When asked about these remarks in 2024, a spokesperson for his campaign said that they "unequivocally" did not reflect his position anymore.[35]
In 2023, Moreno said that reparations should be paid to the descendants of Union soldiers who died in the Civil War (in the context of whether descendants of enslaved Americans should receive them).[36]
Abortion
Moreno opposes abortion, describing himself in a 2022 interview as "Absolute pro-life. No exceptions."[37] In 2023, Moreno's campaign revealed that he had personally donated $100,000 to Protect Women Ohio Fund, the campaign against Ohio's 2023 abortion-rights referendum.[38] At a March 2024 Republican primary debate, he voiced support for exceptions for rape, incest and when the woman's life is in danger.[39] At that debate, he also expressed support for access to contraception.[40][41] He later expressed opposition to the Right to Contraception Act and said that he would have voted with U.S. Senate Republicans to block the bill. A spokesman said Moreno "supports comprehensive access to birth control for women but not the far-left gimmicks in this bill".[42] He supports a federal 15-week ban on abortions.[43]
LGBT rights
Before his Senate campaign, Moreno expressed his support for the LGBT community, with his business sponsoring the hosting of the 2014 Gay Games by Cleveland and Akron.
In a 2016 interview, Moreno credited the TV series Modern Family as having changed perceptions on same-sex marriage, noting that his eldest son is gay.[1]
During his 2024 Senate run, he accused supporters of LGBT rights of "advancing a radical agenda of indoctrination".[44]
Immigration
On immigration, Moreno has expressed support for building a wall on the United States Southern Border, deploying military personnel on the border, and designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Moreno has also repeatedly called for an end to birthright citizenship.[45][46] In 2016, he expressed support for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, saying "we need to help them come out of the shadows",[47] but now supports deporting them.[35]
Foreign policy
Moreno has called for an end to U.S. support for Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. He has expressed support for Israel and has said Israel needs to "end Hamas — end it like we ended ISIS." After the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Moreno argued Israel does not need any additional funding from the United States.[48]
Donald Trump
In 2016, Moreno called Trump a "lunatic invading [the Republican Party]" and said he could not support a party led by "that maniac".[49] In a now-deleted 2016 tweet, Moreno wrote, "He attacked immigrants, tries to silence the press, & appeals to the darkest part of human nature", then asked his followers whether he was describing Trump or Adolf Hitler.[50] He wrote in a tweet that he had written in a vote for Marco Rubio in the 2016 presidential election.[33] During a 2019 radio interview, Moreno said, "there's no scenario in which I would support Trump."
By 2024, Moreno was a Trump supporter, received his endorsement for Senate, and said, "I wear with honor my endorsement from President Trump."[51]
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Personal life
Moreno and his wife, Bridget, live in Westlake, Ohio, and have four adult children.[52] His daughter Emily is married to Congressman Max Miller.[53] In August 2024, Miller filed for divorce.[54]
His brother, Luis Alberto Moreno, is a former Colombian Ambassador to the United States and is currently a member of the board of trustees at the World Economic Forum.[55]
Electoral history
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See also
References
External links
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