Why AP called the Ohio Senate race for Bernie Moreno
Former car salesman Bernie Moreno clinched victory after securing a 4 percentage point lead in Ohio’s Senate race, ousting three-term Democrat Sherrod Brown, who was the last in his party elected statewide in what was once a premier electoral battleground
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown didn't do as well in Ohio's population-dense metro regions as he had in the past, and that performance — in areas he needed to overcome the state's increasingly conservative bent — helped propel former car salesman Bernie Moreno to victory.
Moreno won after securing a 4 percentage-point lead in the Senate race, ousting Brown, who was the last in his party elected statewide in what was once a premier electoral battleground.
Moreno was narrowly leading in the Cincinnati-Dayton area when the race was called, while Brown needed a better performance in the Cleveland and Columbus regions, even though he led in those areas.
Brown would have needed to notch 71.9% of the remaining ballots left to be counted when The Associated Press called the race for Moreno at 11:28 p.m. — a threshold he wasn't clearing in any of the counties in the state.
