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The New Republic: “[Moreno] Believes That Women Don’t Actually Need Abortions, Just Someone To Lift Heavy Things Such As Strollers For Them” 

Columbus, OH – At last night’s GOP Senate primary debate, Bernie Moreno claimed that women don’t need access to abortion, “just someone to lift heavy things such as strollers for them.” Moreno also doubled down in support of a national abortion ban – which would overrule the majority of Ohioans who “overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution” last year.

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The New Republic: GOP Candidate: Women Don’t Need Abortion, They Need Help With Strollers

Tori Otten

February 20, 2024

• A Republican candidate for Ohio senator believes that women don’t actually need abortions, just someone to lift heavy things such as strollers for them.

• During a discussion with all Republican primary candidates Monday night, the moderator asked the men for their stance on abortion and reproductive rights.

• Moreno said his daughter had recently flown home after visiting him. “Mom carrying what looks like an F1 team-worth of equipment,” Moreno said. “People helped her on that plane. Helped put the stroller away, helped her with her seat.” “Those are the kinds of things that we can do,” he said. “Let’s be a pro-mom, pro-family policy.”

• Moreno may also find that his opposition to abortion is pretty unpopular with Ohio voters. In November, people overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution. 

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The Daily Beast: “The fundamental content of the case and key pieces of evidence provided by the plaintiff complicate the feel-good story about Moreno’s rise that has featured so prominently in his biography.”

Columbus, OH – New reporting from the Daily Beast finds that yet another lawsuit is clouding Bernie Moreno’s record. It’s the latest in a series of revelations that complicate the image Moreno tries to present to voters and follows revelations that he was sued by his employees for refusing to pay them the overtime they earned, destroyed evidence and was sanctioned by a judge, and then repeatedly lied when faced with questions. 

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Daily Beast: This GOP Senate Hopeful’s Self-Made Story Has a Darker Side

Sam Brodey

February 20, 2024

• Bernie Moreno has leaned on his personal story…But there’s been something missing from that story: Moreno’s falling-out with his longtime friend and business associate, Gabriel Despres, a man he once credited as central to his success.

• The core allegation from Despres was that Moreno scuttled an agreement entitling him to 10 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of any of his dealerships in exchange for Despres giving up a large share of his annual salary for Moreno to use as capital to expand the business.

• Despres claimed he was pushed out by Moreno before the sale of any dealerships, not because of his performance but because his old friend did not want to pay him.

• While Despres could not put an exact number on the amount of money he believes he lost as a result, his attorneys estimated it was in the millions.

• “This case is about what turned out to be Moreno’s greed and duplicity towards the person who was most there for him from the beginning and who was instrumental to his own success,” Despres’ attorneys wrote in their initial complaint.

• Between 2015 and 2017, three lawsuits were filed against Moreno by employees at his Cleveland-area dealerships which alleged race, gender, and age discrimination, the Associated Press reported last month. A female employee with children, for instance, alleged that Moreno told her to “put your kids in fucking daycare” after she asked about flexibility in her work schedule. According to the AP, all three lawsuits were settled out of court.

• In 2017, Moreno was sued by two former employees at his Massachusetts dealership who claimed that he failed to pay them overtime wages, under a state law that mandates employers must compensate their workers for extra hours worked even if their pay structures are commission-based.

• In 2020, while the case was ongoing, Moreno destroyed overtime pay records, earning a sanction from the Massachusetts judge who instructed jurors to assume the evidence was damaging to Moreno. Ultimately, he lost the case and was ordered to pay over $416,000 to the former employees. In the months before launching his 2024 Senate bid, Moreno settled more than a dozen similar lawsuits out of court, according to Business Insider.

• In 2012, as their relationship deteriorated, according to the lawsuit, Moreno sent Despres an email offering him two choices. One was to accept a worse pay structure with “a warm embrace, get your head out of your ass, straighten out your financial affairs once and for all, and we move forward.”

• Whatever the legal merits of the specific case, or what Despres could have done differently, his lawsuit made clear that if [Depres] regretted anything, it was trusting Moreno to treat him fairly.

• “As Mr. Despres much later realized but did not recognize at the time,” his suit read, “Moreno was the kind of friend and business partner who willingly made promises of great rewards during the good times, but who disappeared when times were not so good.”

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Columbus, OH – At last night’s debate, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan “got personal” and “continued their attacks” as this “fierce battle” escalated even further. Between the jabs and quips, the field made it clear that they will not fight for Ohioans – whether by supporting a national abortion ban that would overrule Ohioans, opposing the bipartisan border bill backed by border patrol agents, or saying they don’t believe there should be a minimum wage.

Bernie Moreno was also unable to escape his record shredding evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they were owed and exploiting his political connections to cash out for “at least $5 million.”

Watch the must see moments here and read/watch more about what Ohioans are saying about last night’s debate below:

• Dayton Daily News: “The three Ohio Republican candidates for U.S Senate met at a University of Findlay forum on Monday, attacking each other […] Dolan, LaRose and Moreno all said they support abortion bans”

• Spectrum News: “All three candidates said they support…federal restrictions on abortion, despite Ohio voters enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution last November.”

• Jeff Rusnak on WKYC: “[The field’s] position on reproductive rights frankly, it is laughable and it is appalling what they said. They forget that 57% percent of Ohioans just voted in November [to support reproductive rights].” 

• Shayla Davis, President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus: “We’re talking about a woman being able to make a choice in regards to her body…57% of Ohio has already said that this is our responsibility to decide, and we decided that.”

• Ohio Capital Journal: “…when asked, very directly, if there should be a minimum wage at all, not one said yes.”

• Toledo Blade: “Melissa Cropper, the Ohio Federation of Teachers’ president and secretary-treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO, and state Rep. Anita Somani (D., Dublin), an obstetrician-gynecologist, said none of the Republican candidates for Ohio’s contested Senate seat are fighting for Ohioans and they can’t be trusted. ‘We can’t trust Moreno, LaRose, or Dolan to fight for Ohio workers because we’ve seen over and over again that they always put their own interests and corporate interests first and workers last,’ Ms. Cropper said.” 

• WVXU: “When talking about the minimum wage, Frank LaRose got personal. ‘Mr. Moreno has had a problem not even paying people the wages that they earned in his business and had to settle a lawsuit as a result of that.’”

• WKSU:  “LaRose attacked Moreno over a wage theft lawsuit in Massachusetts.” 

• Ohio Capital Journal: “[LaRose] criticized Moreno over a Massachusetts wage theft lawsuit […] In that case, a judge determined Moreno destroyed evidence despite a court order to preserve it.”

• WKSU: “The 3 candidates seeking the Republican Party nomination for the chance to take on Democratic Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown continued their attacks on one another in their second debate.”

• Jeff Rusnak on WKYC: “It’s going to be really hard when [the candidates] turn and focus on November to somehow […] get a personality transplant… because they’ve really backed themselves into a corner.” 

• Shayla Davis, President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus: “[The field] didn’t say anything different. Same suit, same message…this is not about who can throw the most money around. This is about everyday Ohioans.” 

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GOP Field Doubled Down In Support Of A National Abortion Ban, Opposed Bipartisan Border Bill, Proved They Won’t Stand Up For Ohio Workers

Moreno Couldn’t Escape His Record Of Shredding Evidence To Steal Wages

Columbus, OH – Tonight, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan escalated the already “messy” and “bruising” slugfest and made it clear they won’t fight for Ohioans – from supporting a national abortion ban that would overrule Ohioans and opposing the bipartisan border bill backed by border control agents, to saying Ohio workers don’t deserve a livable wage. And once again, Bernie Moreno was unable to escape his record of shredding evidence to avoid paying his workers overtime they were owed and exploiting his political connections to cash out for “at least $5 million.”

Here are the top 5 moments from tonight’s GOP debate: 

1. The entire field doubled down in support of overruling Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban. 

Bernie Moreno: “First of all, I’m pro-life. I’ll do everything I can to protect the unborn.”

Matt Dolan: “I am really proud of my pro-life record.” 

Frank LaRose: “Well, it’s well known that I have a history of standing for life and this is something that I don’t run away from.” 

2. Bernie Moreno was slammed, again, for shredding key evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned.

Frank LaRose: “Mr. Moreno has had a problem not even paying people the wages that they’ve earned in his business and had to settle a lawsuit as a result of that, right?”

Read the full report from Business Insider here.

3. Bernie Moreno doubled down in opposition to “the most conservative border bill in decades” that was backed by Border Patrol Agents – proving he would rather talk tough than do what is right for Ohioans. 

Bernie Moreno: “It is absolutely crazy what was in that bill.”

4. Bernie Moreno was called out for using his “inside” political connections to “boost” his businesses. 

Frank LaRose: “[Moreno is] trying to claim he’s an outsider, he is anything but an outsider… to call yourself an outsider, just completely false.” 

5. The entire field proved they won’t stand up for Ohio workers, saying they don’t deserve a living wage. 

Bernie Moreno: “Minimum wage is never intended to be a livable wage….”

Frank LaRose: “Now, all of us up here seem to agree that there shouldn’t be a rise in the minimum wage…”

Matt Dolan: “…the minimum wage is not intended to be a livable wage…if you want to earn a higher wage, work harder, and make a living out of it…”

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Columbus, OH – The  “bloody,” “bruising,” “messy,” and “expensive” knock-down-drag-out Ohio Senate primary got even messier at tonight’s debate, as Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan made it clear they won’t fight for Ohioans.

“Ohioans saw tonight that no one in this field will fight for them,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith. “Whether it was Moreno facing more attacks for his history of wage theft, the field supporting a national abortion ban that would overrule Ohioans, saying Ohio workers don’t deserve a living wage, or opposing the bipartisan bill to secure the border – Moreno, LaRose, and Dolan made it clear they’re only out for themselves.”

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