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Columbus, OH – There are six months until the #OHSEN general election and Ohioans are learning that they “can’t trust Bernie Moreno” as he makes it clear he only looks out for himself and will not fight for Ohioans.

Six Things Ohioans Need To Know About Bernie Moreno:

1. Moreno is facing scrutiny for the “dubious claims” and “string of inconsistencies that have dogged his campaign” as lie after lie is exposed. Moreno is refusing to answer questions about lying about selling Chinese-made cars and contributing to Ohio jobs being “shipped overseas,” lying about shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute, lying about “escap[ing]” socialism, and lying about his business origin story.

2. Moreno refused to pay his workers the overtime they earned, then deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of it. Moreno was found liable for wage theft by a jury – forcing Moreno to pay over $400,000 in damages to his employees and settle over a dozen similar wage theft cases. After he got caught, Moreno repeatedly lied about the case and multiple fact-checks found his excuses “false.”

3. Moreno would vote for a national abortion ban without exceptions that would overturn the will of Ohioans. Moreno has said he is “100% pro-life with no exceptions” and that he is “absolute pro-life, no exceptions.” On top of Moreno’s “well-documented” and repeated support for a national abortion ban, he said women don’t need access to abortion, just someone to lift heavy things such as strollers for them.

4. Moreno is not the outsider he claims to be. Moreno exploited his “inside” political connections, hefty campaign contributions, and public board appointments for years to steer government contracts and taxpayer dollars toward his businesses – leading Moreno to ultimately cash out for “at least $5 million.” 

5. Moreno opposed the bipartisan border security bill – which was backed by border patrol agents – and said he “would have opposed” the bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which will help curb the flow of fentanyl across the southern border by cracking down on the chemical suppliers in China and drug traffickers in Mexico. 

6. Moreno is out for himself, not Ohioans. When asked how he would work across the aisle to deliver for Ohioans, Moreno said he “reject[ed]” the question. In response, Moreno was slammed for having “no real interest” in advocating for Ohioans and being “intent on adding to [the] problem” in Washington.

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Columbus, OH – For weeks, Bernie Moreno has refused to answer the “questions about his biography and business background” that are piling up as reporting has revealed more and more of Moreno’s “dubious claims.”

Questions Moreno must answer about the lies “dogg[ing] his campaign” and new reports that show he only looks out for himself:

1. Why are you lying to Ohio workers by claiming you never sold Chinese-made SUVs? Will you apologize to Ohio workers who have criticized you for contributing to their jobs being “shipped overseas” and “hurt[ing] Mahoning Valley workers and families?”

2. Why are you lying about shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute?

3. Why are you lying about escaping socialism?

4. Why did you claim you “didn’t take handouts” when reporting shows you got your dealership at a steep discount? Will you make documents around your 2005 insider deal available?

5. Will you reimburse the North Olmsted Police Department for the police escort you received to take a joyride in your $3.4 million Aston Martin on the taxpayer’s dime? Why did you lie about the circumstances of the car’s import?

6. Why are you using your rich donors to pay yourself back after loaning millions of dollars to your campaign?

SEE ALSO: New AP Report Finds Moreno’s Using Rich Donors To Pay Himself; NEW: Bernie Moreno Used Taxpayer Dollars For Joyride In $3.4 Million Aston Martin And Failed To Reimburse North Olmsted Police Department; Bernie Moreno “Sold Out American Workers” With “Serious Lie” About Selling Chinese-Made Cars; ICYMI: Labor Leaders Hit GOP Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Over China-Made Vehicle Sales [Toledo Blade]; Ohio Workers Slam Moreno For Killing Ohio Jobs After Reporting Revealed He Lied About Selling Chinese-Made Cars; Bernie Moreno Again Caught Lying, This Time About Selling Chinese-Made Buick Envision; NEW: Moreno Lying About Getting Rid of Confucius Institute; NEW: Bernie Moreno Caught Lying About “Escaping” Socialism; Questions Bernie Moreno Must Answer After New Report Exposes He’s Been Lying About How He Started His First Dealership

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Columbus, OH – According to new reporting from the Associated Press, car salesman Bernie Moreno is using his rich donors to pay himself back after loaning millions of dollars to his campaign. Though Moreno is allegedly able to self-fund his campaign through his personal fortune, the Associated Press highlights “money isn’t enough” to overcome the reality that he is an “untested” candidate who “might not be prepared for the scrutiny” his baggage brings. 

Associated Press: Money isn’t enough to smooth the path for Republican candidates hoping to retake the Senate
Tom Beaumont and Brian Slodysko
May 6, 2024

• Frustrated by the seemingly endless cash flowing to Democrats, Republicans aiming to retake the Senate have rallied around candidates with plenty of their own money…But it also risks elevating untested candidates who might not be prepared for the scrutiny often associated with fiercely contested Senate campaigns.

• In Ohio, meanwhile, anxiety about Bernie Moreno was building among Republicans well before he won the party’s Senate nomination last month.

• Moreno, a former car dealership owner, had a net worth as high as $168 million last year…That’s what made the language in an invitation to a recent high-dollar fundraiser in Cleveland all the more notable.

• The invitation, obtained by the AP, stated that the first $3,300 of each contribution would be used for “debt retirement, until such debt is extinguished,” and before raising money for his general election contest.

• It’s common for candidates who emerge from competitive primaries, as Moreno did March 19, to ask donors to help pay off debt. What’s unusual in Moreno’s case is that he is the only person identified on his most recent campaign finance disclosure who would benefit from retiring the campaign’s debt.

• The records show he lent his campaign $4.5 million in personal and bank loans, which means that the bank would also benefit by receiving interest payments. But no other debts are listed on the document.

• Ozzie Palomo, a Connecticut-based Republican fundraiser who was part of former 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s finance committee, called the priority of retiring debt “a bit of an unorthodox approach” that could be a turn-off for donors.

• “You invest in a campaign in hopes of them winning,” Palomo said. “Not in hopes of paying off someone else’s debt.”

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Columbus, OH – It’s been another bad week for Ohio Senate candidate and car salesman Bernie Moreno. New reporting out today found that Moreno used a taxpayer-funded police escort to take his $3.4 million Aston Martin on a joyride. “Questions about his biography and business background” continue to swirl and Ohioans know they “can’t trust Bernie Moreno,” and are calling Moreno out for supporting a national abortion ban on the anniversary of the leaked Dobbs decision. At the same time, Moreno refuses to answer any questions about the lies “dogg[ing] his campaign.”

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

• New reporting found that Bernie Moreno used a taxpayer-funded police escort of “at least three police cars” to take his $3.4 million Aston Martin – worth “90 times Ohio’s median per capita income of $37,729” – on a joyride on closed public roads and failed to reimburse the North Olmsted police department.

• On the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision leak, Ohioans should know that Bernie Moreno supports a national abortion ban and called the Dobbs decision – which overturned Roe v. Wade and put Ohioans’ healthcare in jeopardy – a “monumental victory.”

• Bernie Moreno was gifted a 2017 Buick Envision manual and “Made in China” stickers to remind him he still owes Ohioans answers about why he lied about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision that workers have said contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas” and caused Ohio workers to call out Moreno saying “we can’t trust [Moreno] to tell us the truth or stand up for our jobs.”

🚓 BERNIE’S JOYRIDE, OHIO TAXPAYER DOLLARS: Bernie Moreno is once again showing Ohioans he’s out for himself – this time, it’s his joyride on closed public roads that he failed to reimburse the North Olmsted police department for. Not only that, Bernie “pants on fire” Moreno lied about how the car was imported – once again showing he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him.

❌ A “MONUMENTAL VICTORY”:  That’s what Bernie Moreno called the Dobbs decision – which overturned Roe v. Wade and led to dangerous abortion bans putting Ohioans’ healthcare in jeopardy. On the two-year anniversary of the leaked decision, read what ODP spokesperson Katie Smith said about Bernie Moreno’s “well-documented” and repeated support for a national abortion ban: “Bernie Moreno believes abortion should be illegal in all cases, including in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother, and he would support a national abortion ban to overturn the will of Ohioans who voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights.”

🎁 A GIFT FOR HIS GRIFT: Bernie Moreno is still refusing to answer questions about why he lied to Ohioans about refusing to sell the Chinese-made Buick Envision that workers have said contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas” – so the Ohio Democratic Party gifted Bernie Moreno a 2017 Buick Envision manual and “Made in China” stickers to remind him he owes Ohio workers answers.”

😬 BERNIE’S GOT BAGGAGE: “Questions about [Moreno’s] biography and business background” continue to swirl, leaving Ohioans feeling they “can’t trust Bernie Moreno.” And Moreno *still* refuses to answer questions about the “string of inconsistencies that have dogged his campaign,” whether it’s his lies about fleeing socialism, shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute, starting his business without handouts, or selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision.

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

• Jeff Adams, UAW Local 1219 President: “Moreno has shown Ohio auto workers that he is a liar and not on our side. We can’t trust him to fight for us.”

• Cleveland.com: “[Bernie Moreno]’s on record as being opposed to abortion without exceptions. He insists that his radical views be shoved down the throats of Ohio voters with a national ban on all abortions. After all the work to get reproductive rights written into our state constitution, we can’t send a fanatic like Bernie to Washington to take it away.”

• Mother Jones: “With at least three police cars providing an escort down busy streets that were partially closed for the occasion, Moreno cruised down Lorain and Stearns roads in the Cleveland suburb of North Olmsted [in his $3.4 million car], at times reaching 60 miles per hour, the Plain Dealer reported. Public records requests processed by the city of North Olmsted and obtained by Mother Jones did not return records indicating Moreno paid the city for its services.”

• WVXU: “Brown’s success in getting this passed in the $95 billion foreign aid bill left Brown’s Republican opponent, former car dealer Bernie Moreno, gobsmacked. Moreno, now in his first statewide race, was on record saying that he would have voted against the $95 billion aid package had he been in the Senate.”

• Tony Totty, UAW Local 14 President: “U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown walks our strike lines with us while his opponent Bernie Moreno sells Buicks made in China.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “‘Moreno has already said he’s not going to work with the other party if he is elected… How can he expect to get anything done?’”

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Columbus, OH – After reporting revealed that Bernie Moreno lied about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision, workers from across Ohio are saying they “cannot trust Moreno” because he “sold out American workers” and contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas.”

Read / Watch What They’re Saying:

WLIO: Ohio UAW Members Slam Bernie Moreno

WLIO: “The workers called out Republican nominee Bernie Moreno, claiming he’s lied about past business decisions and doesn’t go to bat for autoworkers…Union reps say there are plenty of social media posts and other sources showing [Moreno] did, in fact, sell the Envision for several years and profited off Chinese-made vehicles. They say this pattern of lying makes the members of the UAW unable to trust Moreno when they’re looking for a Senator who has their back.”

Jeff Adams, UAW Local 1219 President: “If someone lies about something as simple if they sold a vehicle or not that was made in China at their dealership they owned, that’s a pretty serious lie to me….Bernie Moreno’s proved he does not have our backs, especially as an autoworker, selling vehicles that were made in China.”

Tribune Chronicle: Labor leaders blast Moreno
David Skolnick

• Local labor leaders, who are backing U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s reelection campaign, criticized Bernie Moreno, his Republican challenger, for selling the China-made Buick Envision at a dealership he owned.

• “Bernie Moreno is a shady car salesman, that’s what he is,” said Jose Arroyo, vice president of the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Labor Council and staff representative for the United Steelworkers union. “Sometimes they are what we think they are.”

• Mary Ola Stemple, UAW Local 1112’s administrative assistant and a former Lordstown GM employee, said: “Moreno’s business decisions hurt Mahoning Valley workers and families, and he has proved he will not fight for us.”

• Those speaking at the event say…Moreno, who emerged from a three-man Republican primary for the party’s nomination, can’t be trusted.

• Jim Devlin, UAW Local 1112’s vice president and a former Lordstown GM worker, said the Envision “takes jobs away from Americans. We protect ourselves and buy American.” He added about Moreno: “When you lie about things, I can’t trust him.”

• Moreno’s various auto dealerships also sold numerous foreign luxury cars, including Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Porsche and Aston Martin.

• Darwin Cooper, UAW Local 1112 president and Lordstown GM retiree, said he was angry about Moreno settling several wage theft lawsuits after a Massachusetts jury ordered him to pay more than $400,000 to two former employees for failing to pay overtime in violation of that state’s labor laws.

• Arroyo said of Moreno: “To sell Chinese cars and mistreat your employees and lie about it on the campaign, you can’t position yourself as a buy-American first, put-Ohio-workers first (candidate) when your history says different.”

The Toledo Blade: Labor leaders hit GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno over China-made vehicle sales
David Barkholz

• Local labor leaders supporting U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D., Ohio) re-election bid held a rally in Toledo on Thursday to bash Republican opponent Bernie Moreno for telling untruths about selling China-made vehicles…

• On the campaign trail, Mr. Moreno said he refused to sell the China-made Buick Envision when he owned a Buick-GMC dealership near Cleveland… said Tony Totty, president of UAW Local 14, which represents 1,500 workers at General Motors’ Toledo Propulsion Systems plant.

• But the record shows he did sell Envisions for years despite knowing where they were made, Mr. Totty said.

• “It’s important for us as leadership to protect our members against the lies of a businessperson like this who isn’t on our side,” Mr. Totty said.

Mahoning Matters: Mahoning, Trumbull union members discuss Bernie Moreno’s anti-worker allegations
Kelcey Norris

• Union officials shared reports that Moreno owned a Buick GMC dealership in Beachwood and told voters he’d “refused to sell a Buick SUV model made in China, the Envision,” according to Spectrum News. However, a Facebook post made in 2019 revealed that the Chinese-made vehicle had been sold for years at the Beachwood dealership.

• “Bernie Moreno has shown Ohio workers over and over that he does not care about anyone besides himself,” said Arroyo. “He lied to us about selling cars made in China at the expense of Ohio workers and lied to us about not paying his employees the overtime wages they earned. It is clear that Bernie Moreno is not on our side and that we can’t trust him.”

• “I know what it means to stand up for Ohio workers. Bernie Moreno is not standing up for people like me, he is too busy putting himself and his profits first,” said Stemple. “Moreno’s business decisions hurt Mahoning Valley workers and families, and he has proved he will not fight for us.”

• “I know that Ohioans need a Senator who will fight to keep our jobs here – not one who made his fortune selling cars manufactured in China, because decisions like that led to Lordstown closing and Ohio jobs being shipped overseas,” said Devlin.

Hometown Stations: Lima UAW and AFL-CIO members hold a news conference speaking out against Bernie Moreno
Casey Mulcahy

• [Members of the Lima UAW and AFL-CIO] called out 2024 Republican nominee Bernie Moreno and how they say he has lied about business decisions in the past and does not go to bat for auto workers.

• According to the union’s sources, when Moreno was a Buick-GMC car dealership owner in Beachwood, Ohio, he stated that he denied selling any of the Buick SUV Envision models, which are made in China.

• But according to union officials, there are multiple social media posts and other sources showing he did in fact sell the Envision for several years and profit off of Chinese vehicles, contrary to what he said he wouldn’t do.

• They say this pattern of lying makes the members of the UAW unable to trust Moreno when they are looking for a senator who has their back and can be transparent with the union workers.

• “Something to be aware of if someone lies about something as simple as if they sold a vehicle or not that was made in China at their dealership they owned, that’s a pretty serious lie to me…Sherrod Brown was the only one that was there for us. He showed he’s proved he’s had our backs. Bernie Moreno proved he does not have our backs, especially as an auto worker selling vehicles made in China,” stated Jeff Adams, UAW Local 1219 president.

• “Well, Bernie, for more than a 5-year period, sold these Chinese-made cars. He sold it to people who didn’t realize it was a Chinese-made car; with the Buick nameplate, it looked like an American car…” stated George Jeffries, UAW Lima/Troy area CAP council president.

Spectrum News: Union workers criticize U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno
Cassidy Wilson

• Some union workers are criticizing U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, a week after a Spectrum News report showed he sold cars that were made in China, despite telling voters multiple times that he would not.

• Union workers say they cannot trust Moreno.

• The controversy stems from the Buick Envision, a Chinese-made car that Moreno said he told GM he wouldn’t sell when he owned a dealership in Beachwood.

• “He lied about selling foreign cars, well Chinese cars,” said Jose Arroyo, Vice President of Mahoning/Trumbull County AFL-CIO. “…you don’t go and lie to the American people, not lie to Ohioans or lie to people in the valley about your business records.”

Lima News: Lima autoworkers call out Moreno
Jacob Espinosa

• Local autoworkers said the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Bernie Moreno, sold out American workers in a press conference Thursday.

• “Moreno did wrong by workers in Lima and across Ohio,” local president Jeff Adams said. “Moreno claims he took a principled stand and that he refused to sell the Envision, but that’s not true. The vehicle was always made in China, and when GM first announced they were importing it to the United States, the UAW called that choice a slap in the face to autoworkers.”

• UAW Local 2147 member and Lima Troy Area CAP Council president George Jeffries said Moreno lied about this and sold the car for five years.

• “When he got caught on his lies, he doubled down and covered it up,” he said. “We can’t trust him to represent the Ohio Workers if we can’t trust him to tell us the truth about what he’s selling.”

• Jeffries said Moreno was still at fault [for contributing to the closure of Lordstown] and lied about that too.

Spectrum News: Ohio Workers Say They Can’t Trust Bernie Moreno

Spectrum News: “Members of  the UAW and AFL-CIO along with labor advocates gathered near Youngstown, collectively, to say that they don’t trust Moreno…The Envision is made in China and Moreno owned a car dealership in Beachwood. Moreno told GM at that time that he would not sell those vehicles, but Spectrum News found testimonials on his website from customers who bought the vehicle from him.”

Jose Arroyo, Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Central Labor Council Vice President: “He lied about selling…Chinese-cars…You don’t go and lie to the American people, not lie to Ohioans, lie to people in the Valley about your business record.”

WFMJ: Moreno Lied About Selling Chinese-Made Cars

WFMJ: “Recent comments from Moreno have made headlines, claiming that when he owned a Buick GMC dealership in Beachwood, Ohio he refused to sell a Buick SUV model made in China, known as the Envision. The UAW says despite Moreno making the claim [he never sold Buick Envisions], those vehicles were still sold on his lot.”

Jim Devlin, UAW Local 1112 Vice President: “It [selling the Chinese-made cars] still has a lasting impact, and [Moreno] lied, he didn’t sell them. When you lie to me, that tells me I can’t trust you.”

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