New AP Report Finds Moreno’s Using Rich Donors To Pay Himself

New AP Report Finds Moreno's Using Rich Donors To Pay Himself

May 6, 2024

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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