Ohio GOP Senate challenger flips script on Dem incumbent's first campaign promises as poll numbers tighten

COLUMBUS - Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno took aim at his Democratic opponent during a recent campaign event by resurfacing a couple of Sen. Sherrod Brown's campaign promises from over 30 years ago and highlighting how he has broken both promises.

"It's time for a change," Moreno told Fox News Digital outside the Franklin County Board of Elections, where Ohio Republicans encouraged voters to cast their votes early as part of former President Donald Trump’s "Swamp the Vote" platform.

"Give Republicans a chance to govern, and we're going to make your lives better. Look, Sherrod Brown has seen 200,000 manufacturing jobs leave this state in his 30 years in D.C.," Moreno said. "Go back to 1992. U.S. Sherrod Brown ran on two promises. He made two promises, think about this, guys, he made two promises to the American people, to the people of Ohio, term limits and restore manufacturing."

"200,000 manufacturing jobs lost, and he said that anybody who's in Washington, D.C., for more than 10 years is a crook. Take him for his word," he added.

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Polls show a neck and neck race between Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, right, and GOP challenger Bernie Moreno. (Getty Images)

"We started advertising, that's number one," Moreno said, highlighting why he believes that recent polls are showing him essentially in a dead heat within the margin of error with Brown after trailing him for months.

"Sherrod Brown spent the fortune over the summer saying that he'd cure cancer. The other half said, I cause cancer. Of course. Neither one is true. We started advertising. We didn't take personal shots because we won't do that. Our campaign is simple. Look at his voting record."

Moreno pointed to Brown supporting President Biden's agenda nearly 100% of the time and said he "stabbed Trump in the back" multiple times when voting for amendments. 

A Washington Post poll released this week conducted between Oct. 3-7 found that Brown leads Moreno 48-47, well within the margin of error of 3.5 points after Brown has led by a greater margin in most of the polls so far.

"He's somebody who's completely different in Washington, D.C.," Moreno said of Brown, who has been running ads promising to work with presidents of any party and touting his record on illegal immigration in a state where Trump won by eight points in 2020.

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Bernie Moreno, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio, speaks in the Fiserv Forum on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"I have senators like Senator Hagerty," Moreno said while standing next to Sen. Bill Hagerty in front of the Moreno campaign bus. "Who has been with me since the beginning of this campaign during the primary, who look and go, 'who's this guy on TV? He looks a lot like Sherrod Brown, but it can't be Sherrod Brown because the guy I know in Washington, D.C., is a radical liberal. The guy on TV is something completely different.' But that's what we see. And I think as people see that exposure. We're now tied in the polls. But he's at 46%. Look, we're going to win."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, arrives at the Capitol for a vote on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Many experts believe the Ohio Senate race will play a critical role in determining which party controls the Senate next year and the Cook Political Report ranks the race as a "toss up."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..