Pro-crypto Republican challenger Bernie Moreno has won the Ohio Senate seat from incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.
The Associated Press called Monero’s victory at 4:27 am UTC on Nov. 6.
Moreno’s win not only adds another pro-crypto voice to the Senate but also removes a powerful crypto-opposing politician who was chair of the Senate Banking Committee — which is key to passing crypto legislation.
A new pro-crypto voice in Washington
Having never held political office before, Moreno campaigned as an “outsider.” Nonetheless, he garnered endorsements from a vast array of Republican insiders, all the way up to Donald Trump, who called Moreno “exactly the type of MAGA fighter we need in the Senate.”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and billionaire Grant Cardone were also among his supporters.
The Brown-Moreno contest was the most expensive Senate race in history, with over $500,000 spent on advertising, according to NBC News. Most of that spending came from political action committees (PACs), including the pro-crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs, which spent $41 million supporting Moreno.
Moreno shows all signs of being a dependably pro-crypto future legislator. He said in an X post:
“Forever politicians like Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden don’t understand the first thing about crypto and are totally unqualified to regulate it. They are obsessed with destroying crypto because they hate American innovation.”
Moreno supports the creation of a Bitcoin (BTC) national reserve and has promised to fight for “regulatory certainty.” He said on the campaign trail:
“Let me just end the myth right here: The crypto industry does not want no regulation. That’s totally false.”
Related: Republican seeking to unseat Sherrod Brown said he sold all his Bitcoin
A long-time pro-crypto voice in Ohio
Moreno is the owner of Bernie Moreno Companies — “a diversified group of portfolio companies with investments ranging from software technology using blockchain, various investments, and a bespoke vehicle subscription service,” according to LinkedIn.
Moreno’s crypto credentials are solid. He was one of the founders of Blockland Cleveland, an organization intended to promote blockchain in the local economy that had 1,500 members at one time. He also supported the 2018 initiative to make Ohio state taxes payable in Bitcoin (BTC).
In 2018, after a successful career running car dealerships, Moreno co-founded the government technology company Champ Titles, which used blockchain to help states issue and manage vehicle ownership. Moreno was also behind an attempt to turn a mall in Cleveland into a regional blockchain hub in 2019. That site eventually debuted as an “entrepreneurial center.”
Moreno’s first foray into politics was during the 2022 Senate race, but he suspended his campaign before the primaries. Reportedly, Trump asked Moreno to drop out in 2022. Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance is also an Ohio senator.
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