FIRST ON FOX – Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno is hitting incumbent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown on his Inflation Reduction Act vote in a new ad that’s part of a $25 million new buy ahead of Election Day.
The 30-second ad spot, which will run on television and digitally, opens with a single mother from Versailles, Ohio, saying she can’t believe the current prices for groceries.
“It’s a lot tougher to provide for my kids with the Democrats’ inflation,” the woman, Carla, says. “Sherrod Brown’s only made things worse. Brown supported Kamala, not us, and voted for her radical Inflation Act, and now prices are at a 40-year-high. Bernie Moreno will fight to lower prices and stop inflation. That’s why I trust Bernie Moreno to help Ohio families.”
The ad, first obtained by Fox News Digital in advance of its planned roll out, also includes the message on screen: “Sherrod Brown voted for Kamala’s Inflation Act.”
It was paid for by Bernie Moreno for Senate and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“Hardworking Ohioans are suffering under the record-high inflation created by Kamala Harris and Sherrod Brown,” Moreno said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “While he claims to fight for Ohio, families are unable to afford basic necessities. In November, we will send him packing and get our economy back on track.”
Moreno’s campaign told Fox News Digital that the ad is part of an additional $25 million in spending. It comes just 33 days before the Nov. 5 election. Early voting in Ohio starts Oct. 8.
The contest is on track to be the most expensive Senate race this cycle, with $310.4 million in spending from both campaigns as of August, according to Axios.
As of August, Moreno shelled out $158.4 million and Brown spent $152 million, Axios reported.
Brown’s campaign announced Wednesday it will report raising nearly $31 million in the third quarter.
Bernie Moreno comes on stage to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News has labeled the race between Moreno and Brown as a toss-up.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Brown’s campaign and congressional office for comment about the new ad but did not immediately hear back.
Ohio is center stage on the presidential ticket this cycle with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as former President Trump’s vice presidential running mate. Moreno ran against Vance in the 2022 GOP Republican primary for Senate, which Vance won, and has supported the Trump-Vance bid for the White House.
In August 2023, on the one-year anniversary of President Biden signing his Inflation Reduction Act into law, Brown’s campaign issued a statement championing the legislation as having included “key priorities Brown fought for to save Ohioans money, crack down on Wall Street stock buybacks, and attract investment and good-paying jobs to Ohio.”
Sen. JD Vance and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance celebrate as he is nominated for vice president alongside Ohio delegate Bernie Moreno at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The Inflation Reduction Act is already saving Ohioans money at the pharmacy counter and spurring Ohio to lead the country in manufacturing the technology of the future – and those cost savings and Ohio jobs will only grow in the coming years,” Brown said in a statement at the time.
As of August 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest – which includes Ohio – rose by 2.6% over the last 12 months.
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The bureau said the index for all items, less food and energy, advanced 3.2% over the year, while food prices increased 1.8%. Energy prices declined 2.6%, “largely the result of decreasing prices for gasoline,” it added.