COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, scion of one of the state’s best-known Republican families, endorsed Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown on Sunday in his closely fought reelection race against GOP nominee Bernie Moreno.
Taft, 82, announced in a letter to the editor of the Dayton Daily News that he plans to vote for Brown over Moreno, a Donald Trump-backed Cleveland businessman.
The grandson of “Mr. Republican Robert A. Taft Sr. and great-grandson of William Howard Taft, the only person in American history to have served as president and chief justice of the United States, praised Brown in the letter without naming Moreno.
Taft cited as the reason for his decision Brown’s cooperation with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on behalf of the Dayton area, including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Brown’s 25 years of experience in public office; and Brown’s committee assignments due to his high status in the Senate.
“While I do not agree with Senator Brown on any policy issues, I believe that the people of Ohio desperately need a highly effective, experienced advocate in the U.S. Senate – someone who is completely focused on the needs of both Ohio and America ,” wrote Taft.
It remained unclear how Taft’s support might play out at the ballot box, given the hard shift to the right in Ohio in recent elections. The endorsement comes as Brown works to attract independent and Republican crossover voters in the record-breaking $400 million-plus contest.
Moreno’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Trump supporters now hold power within the state GOP, and the former president’s endorsements have eclipsed those of mainstream Ohio Republicans in recent elections.
Trump’s support carried Moreno to victory in a crowded primary field this spring, despite both GOP Gov. Mike DeWine and recently retired Republican Sen. Rob Portman, for example, backing a rival candidate, and first-time politician J.D. Vance to a Senate victory pushed. the objections of a cadre of Republican state leaders.
The endorsement is particularly notable, however, as Bob Taft is the only politician in Brown’s long political career to ever defeat him in an election. Taft defeated Brown in his 1990 bid for re-election as secretary of state.
