GOP Senate contenders in Ohio face off for their first statewide debate

CLEVELAND (AP) — The three Republicans vying to take on Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown this fall in Ohio’s competitive U.S. Senate race clashed bitterly in their first statewide debate Monday, lobbing personal attacks and accusing each other of shifting political positions aimed at wooing GOP primary voters.

Facing off at WJW Fox 8 Studios in Cleveland, businessman Bernie Moreno, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan generally agreed on a few issues. All three, for example, supported some form of federal limit on abortion access, citing pro-abortion amendments like the one Ohioans approved last fall as too extreme. They declined to say anything critical of former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Moreno, and called for fully securing the southern U.S. border.

They split quickly on the latter topic, though, with Dolan accusing Moreno of wanting “to militarize the federal government and deport children” for his stance calling for deporting anybody in the country illegally. LaRose called earlier Monday for Democratic President Joe Biden to deploy three military divisions to the border, which Dolan said was irresponsible.

“We need to work with the Mexican government, we need to be tough with the Mexican government,” he said.

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