Summary
Bernardo Moreno is a Colombian-American businessman and political candidate. He is the Republican nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election in Ohio, challenging incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown. Wikipedia
Born: 1967 (age 57 years), Bogotá, Colombia
Party: Republican Party
Spouse: Bridget Moreno
Children: 4
Books: Pigouvian Taxes: A Strategic Approach, MORE
Education: University of Michigan
Nationality: American, Colombian
OnAir Post: Bernie Moreno – OH
About
Overview
Bernie Moreno fights for the American dream because he’s lived it.
Bernie was born in Bogota, Colombia. At age five, his American dream began when he moved to the United States with his family. Bernie became an American citizen at age 18.
Bernie purchased his first car dealership in 2005 by investing every cent he had, and then some, and never looked back. Through his relentless work ethic and untamable entrepreneurial spirit, he turned that one dealership into one of the largest dealership groups in America.
More recently, in 2016, Bernie recognized the value and transformational potential of blockchain technology, before it received mainstream attention, and moved much of his volunteer time and investment dollars into the space. In 2018 he co-founded ChampTitles, which eliminates the need for States to issue paper titles. The company has grown to be quite successful as Bernie served as Chairman of the Board. He recently sold his entire stake in the company and is no longer Board Chair.
After a long, successful career, Bernie sold most of his business to begin focusing on his calling: protecting the American dream for another generation. He saw the government calling some people essential and other hardworking Ohioans “unessential.” He saw schools shut down and China go unpunished for unleashing a virus on the world. He saw politicians afraid to take on the CCP for stealing our jobs and technology; buying our farmland; and influencing young minds via TikTok and Confucius Institutes.
Solving our country’s problems requires common sense. In Washington, Bernie will fight to shrink government, protect our freedoms, stop the Chinese communist party from taking our data and land, and always put America First.
Ohioans are done with politicians who talk a big game and do nothing. Bernie wants to go to D.C. to get work done – just like he always has.
Bernie lives in Westlake, Ohio, with his wife, Bridget, and has four adult children.
Source: Campaign page
Web Links
Politics
Political career
Source: Wikipedia
In April 2021, Moreno entered the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring incumbent Rob Portman. On February 3, 2022, Moreno dropped out of the race after reportedly meeting with former President Donald Trump.
On April 10, 2023, Moreno filed paperwork to run for Ohio’s Class I seat in the U.S. Senate up for election in 2024. Donald Trump endorsed Moreno in December 2023.[18] Moreno won the Republican primary on March 19, 2024, defeating Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose.
In the run-up to the Republican primary in March 2024, an Associated Press report found that an account on adult website Adult FriendFinder had been created by someone with access to Moreno’s email, soliciting “men for 1-on-1 sex”. In a statement provided to the Associated Press by Moreno’s lawyer, a former intern said he wrote the post and described it as an “aborted prank”.
Issues
Why I am running
Source: Campaign site
I am running for the United States Senate because, for too long, the men and women who move Ohio forward, American workers, have been left behind by career politicians like Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden.
All public policy priorities in America should revolve around a simple concept: what is good for American workers and families? All elected officials should strive to create a growing middle class where the American Dream is accessible to anyone, regardless of their background.
Specifically, these sixteen priorities will do just that:
1. Empower parents to make education choices
2. Secure America’s borders, stop amnesty and destroy the Mexican Drug Cartels
3. Restore the integrity of our elections
4. Massively reduce anti-growth regulations, cut government spending, and end inflation
5. Beat Communist China
6. Support our greatest ally, Israel, and fight to put a stop to all forms of antisemitism in the United States, especially on our college campuses
7. Hold Big Tech accountable and break up big media
8. Protect Moms, Protect Families, and Protect Life by supporting a ban on late term abortions
9. Empower local law enforcement to ensure Safe Communities
10. Vigorously defend our constitutional rights, especially the Second Amendment
11. Restore American Energy Independence
12. Allow free markets to work
13. Enact term limits for members of Congress
14. Restoring American Manufacturing
15. End Wokeness and Cancel Culture
16. End Socialism in America
More Information
Wikipedia
Bernardo Francisco Moreno Mejía (/məriːnoʊ/ mər-EE-noh; born February 14, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the senior United States senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Moreno was born in Colombia to a family that soon immigrated to the United States, where he grew up in Florida. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he entered business and moved to Ohio in 2005, where he operated car dealerships predominantly in Greater Cleveland before becoming involved in blockchain companies.
Moreno first ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022, but withdrew before the Republican primary. In 2024, he defeated Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, becoming Ohio’s junior senator on January 3, 2025. A week later, he became the state’s senior senator when JD Vance resigned to become vice president. Moreno is the first Hispanic American senator from Ohio and one of the first two Colombian American U.S. senators, alongside Ruben Gallego.
Early life and education
Bernardo Francisco Moreno Mejía was born in Bogotá, Colombia, on February 14, 1967.[1][2] When Moreno was five, the family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was raised.[3] His father, Bernardo Moreno Mejía Sr., was a physician and surgical assistant who held high-ranking positions in the Colombian government. His mother, Marta Mejía Pradilla, was a real estate agent. Moreno became a U.S. citizen at age 18 and renounced his Colombian citizenship.[4][5] Moreno’s family of nine lived in a three-bedroom condominium in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for two months before moving to a four-bedroom house in Pompano Beach.[6]
Moreno attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.[7] 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”.[8][9]
Business career

After college, Moreno worked at General Motors as an analyst and field consultant for the Saturn Corporation division.[10] He moved to Massachusetts in the early 1990s to become the general manager of the Saturn dealership at The Herb Chambers Companies.[11][12]
Moreno relocated to Ohio in 2005 and bought a Mercedes-Benz dealership in North Olmsted, Ohio, near Cleveland.[13][14][15] Moreno was the president of the Collection Auto Group, a car dealership company.[16] By 2016, he owned more than a dozen dealerships, mostly located in Ohio.[17] In 2019, he began to sell a number of his dealerships to focus on his new blockchain-based technology company, Ownum.[18]
In 2018, Moreno established the Sales Center for Excellence at Cleveland State University.[19] In 2019, Moreno was elected to the Cleveland Business Hall of Fame[20] in Cleveland Magazine.[21] 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.[22][23]
In 2023, Moreno settled over a dozen wage theft lawsuits before launching his U.S. Senate campaign, agreeing to pay over $400,000 to two former employees. A state judge rebuked him for shredding documents potentially related to the case.[24] 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.[25]
U.S. Senate (2025–present)
Elections
2022
In April 2021, Moreno entered the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring incumbent Rob Portman.[26] On February 3, 2022, Moreno dropped out of the race, reportedly after meeting with Donald Trump.[27]
2024
On April 10, 2023, Moreno filed paperwork to run for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat in the 2024 election.[28] Donald Trump endorsed Moreno in December 2023.[29] Moreno won the Republican primary on March 19, 2024, defeating Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose.[30] 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.[31] Brown was considered adversarial to the crypto industry.[31]
In the run-up to the Republican Senate primary in March 2024, the Associated Press reported that an account on Adult FriendFinder had been created in 2008 using Moreno’s email address. The account solicited “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 the account and called it an “aborted prank”.[32]

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.[33]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:[34]
Political positions
After the 2020 presidential election, Moreno criticized those denying the results of the election, but in 2021 he said the election had been “stolen”.[35]
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.[36] 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.[37]
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).[38]
Abortion
Moreno opposes abortion, describing himself in a 2022 interview as “Absolute pro-life. No exceptions.”[39] 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.[40] At a March 2024 Republican primary debate, he voiced support for exceptions for rape, incest and when the woman’s life is in danger.[41] At that debate, he also expressed support for access to contraception.[42][43] 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”.[44] He supports a federal 15-week ban on abortions.[45] In 2025, he voted for legislation banning federal funding of organizations that perform abortions.[46]
LGBT rights
Before his Senate campaigns, Moreno expressed support for the LGBT community. His business sponsored the hosting of the 2014 Gay Games by Cleveland and Akron. In a 2016 interview, Moreno noted that his eldest son is gay and credited the TV series Modern Family for changing perceptions of same-sex marriage.[1]
According to an Associated Press News profile, Moreno had “shifted from a public supporter of LGBTQ rights to a hardline opponent” by the time of his 2024 Senate run. His campaign social media accounts attacked opponents as supporters of a “radical trans agenda“.[47]
Immigration
On immigration, Moreno has expressed support for a Mexico–U.S. border wall, 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.[48][49] In 2016, he expressed support for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, saying “we need to help them come out of the shadows”,[50] but now supports deporting them.[37]
In 2025, Moreno introduced the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025, which requires that U.S. citizens with dual citizenship renounce their other citizenship.[51] This bill, designated as S.3283 (119th Congress), was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 1, 2025.[52][53]
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.[54]
Moreno wrote The Trump Doctrine For Colombia and the Western Hemisphere, a memo calling for sanctions against President of Colombia Gustavo Petro.[55] He presented the memo, headlined with AI-generated images of Petro and Nicolás Maduro in prison uniforms, to Trump in October 2025.[56] He supported the United States abduction of Maduro.[57]
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”.[58] In a 2016 tweet, Moreno wrote, “He attacked immigrants, tries to silence the press, & appeals to the darkest part of human nature”, and asked his followers whether he was describing Trump or Adolf Hitler.[59] He wrote in a tweet that he had written in a vote for Marco Rubio in the 2016 presidential election.[35] During a 2019 radio interview, Moreno said, “there’s no scenario in which I would support Trump.”
By 2024, Moreno was a Trump supporter, had received his endorsement for Senate, and said, “I wear with honor my endorsement from President Trump.”[60]
Social Security
In June 2026, Moreno and Senator Elizabeth Warren published a joint opinion piece in The New York Times announcing that they had agreed to work together on a proposal to lift or eliminate the Social Security payroll tax cap.
Personal life
In 1989, Moreno married Bridget Brickley. They have four children together[61] and live in Westlake, Ohio.[62] Moreno’s daughter Emily was married to Congressman Max Miller.[63] In August 2024, Miller filed for divorce.[64] Emily Miller accused Max Miller of throwing boiling water at her and pointing a gun at her, which he denied. After declining to comment for nearly two years following the accusations, Moreno publicly called for Miller to resign from Congress in August 2026, stating that he “should not serve in the House of Representatives” and describing him as a danger to his daughter.[65][66][67]
Moreno’s brother, Luis Alberto Moreno, is a former Colombian Ambassador to the United States and a member of the World Economic Forum‘s board of trustees.[68][69] He is a cousin of Lina Moreno de Uribe, former first lady of Colombia.[70]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bernie Moreno | 557,626 | 50.48% | |
| Republican | Matt Dolan | 363,013 | 32.86% | |
| Republican | Frank LaRose | 184,111 | 16.67% | |
| Total votes | 1,104,750 | 100.0% | ||
