washington – Three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown hasn’t done as well in Ohio’s densely populated metro areas as he has in the past, and that performance helped (in areas he needed to overcome the state’s increasingly conservative tilt) Lead former car salesman Bernie Moreno to victory.

Moreno won after holding a 4 percentage point lead in the Senate race, unseating Brown, who was the last person elected in his party statewide, once a leading electoral battleground.

When the race was called, Moreno was narrowly leading the Cincinnati-Dayton district, while Brown, although leading the Cleveland and Columbus districts, needed a better performance.

When the Associated Press called the race for Moreno at 11:28 p.m., Brown needed 71.9% of the remaining votes to be counted; this was a threshold no county in the state had surpassed.

CANDIDATES: Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, Bernie Moreno

WINNER: Moreno

SURVEY CLOSING TIME: 19:30 ET

ABOUT THE RACE:

The phrase “goes Ohio, goes the nation” was once part of the widely held conventional wisdom that underscored the truly volatile nature of a perennial presidential battleground state. Now.

Over the past decade, the Midwestern state that was once a reliable barometer of how the nation at large would vote has become a Republican stronghold. Brown was the only exception. With a gravelly voice and a populist outlook, Brown somehow endured and became the only Democrat still holding statewide elected office.

But now he has lost the political fight of his life against the wealthy Moreno, who is backed by Trump. The race was the most expensive Senate race this election cycle, with a bill exceeding $400 million; most of this revenue came from pro-Republican groups that supported Moreno.

Brown seemed to understand gravity. In July, he called out then-presumptive presidential candidate Joe. Biden withdraw from the race after one month shaky debate performance Against Trump. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden on the ticket but skipped the Democratic National Convention in August. Moreno blamed Brown move away from HarrisThe senator’s campaign denied this.

But Moreno also had responsibilities. He has been criticized by other Republicans, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, for making insensitive comments about abortion; He said it was “crazy” that women over 50 care about this issue because “I’m not interested.” I think this is a problem for you.’”

WHY AP CALLED THE RACE: The AP declared Moreno the winner with a nearly 5-point lead over Brown with more than 90% of the projected vote. He had a narrow lead in the densely populated Cincinnati-Dayton district, which Brown won in 2018. Meanwhile, Brown’s margins in Democratic strongholds in Cleveland and Columbus were not as large as they were in 2018. Moreno also led in the most closely divided areas in the 2020 presidential race.

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Learn more about how and why the AP announces the winners of the US elections: Explaining the 2024 Election, A series from the Associated Press that aims to help make sense of American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to improve its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the EP’s democracy initiative Here. AP is solely responsible for all content.