The 2024 election cycle has ended, with Republicans holding control of all three branches of government. The Washington Examiner interviewed over two dozen new members as they prepare to take office in January. Part 5 of Capitol’s new crop will introduce Bernie Moreno, Ohio’s newly elected senator, who will take on a unique role in 2025.
Republican Bernie Moreno is entering the Senate with a title his colleagues will spend years coveting.
He will become Ohio’s senior senator within days of taking the oath of office in January, thanks to the impending resignation of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who will soon be sworn in as vice president.
In a brief interview, Moreno called his election to the Senate sobering. He unseated Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a three-term incumbent and the last remaining statewide Democrat in Ohio.
“It’s a great honor to be here. It’s a hefty weight of responsibility to make sure you represent the people of Ohio properly, and so I take that job very seriously,” he told the Washington Examiner.
The irony of Moreno leap-frogging his freshman colleagues is not lost on him, either. In his victory speech three weeks ago, Moreno joked that he “can’t wait” for Vance, elected to the Senate in 2022, to resign so he can outrank his eventual replacement.
Two senators represent each state in the Senate, with the longer-serving member getting the distinction of senior senator.
The title is largely honorary, and may not come right away for Moreno. He expects to serve alongside Vance from Jan. 3 until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
But the hierarchy is foundational to the way the Senate works. Each senator is ranked on their years served in Washington, a metric that determines everything from committee assignments to office space.
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Like Vance, Moreno has positioned himself as a fierce defender of Trump. On Monday, he quickly came out in support of tariffs Trump has threatened to levy on China over the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
He’s also promised “massive deference” to Trump as the Senate votes on his more controversial Cabinet picks, calling his sweep of the battleground states on Nov. 5 a historic “mandate.”
In Ohio, Trump buoyed Moreno to a 4-point victory over Brown.
“You know, some of us would like to think egotistically that I won. Let me be crystal clear, the voters of America voted for President Trump’s agenda, and so he needs to be able to build the team he needs and wants to build,” Moreno told reporters as he navigated the Capitol for freshman orientation earlier this month.
In terms of his own priorities, Moreno hopes to leverage his career as a blockchain entrepreneur to lobby for a softer regulatory approach to cryptocurrency than Brown, who currently chairs the Senate Banking Committee.
Moreno, who built and then sold a chain of luxury car dealerships, also cited the return of manufacturing in the auto sector as important to his first term.
“Automotive issues are really important to me. Crypto is really important to me,” Moreno said. “Re-industrialization, especially around building an automotive renaissance in America, is something I want to work on right away.”
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Of the 12 incoming freshmen, Moreno may be the only one with “senior” attached to his title. But practically speaking, he won’t be the most senior when it comes to time served in the Senate.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the next senator from New Jersey, is expected to be sworn into his seat in December, once election results are certified, so he can have a leg up on his freshman colleagues.
Kim is replacing Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ), a caretaker for the seat of disgraced Sen. Bob Menendez, who was convicted on corruption charges over the summer.
Still, Moreno’s circumstance is quite unusual. Senators typically have to wait years or decades before they become the senior senator for their state. Brown has held the title for Ohio since 2011.
Other flukes include the arrival of Georgia’s two Democratic senators, Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Both were elected on the same day in a pair of runoff elections in 2021, but Ossoff, one of the youngest members of the Senate at age 37, was awarded the “senior” title since his name comes first alphabetically.
Neither had prior experience in elected office, another measure of seniority when tenure in the Senate is equal.
Moreno declined to say who he wants to serve alongside him once Vance resigns, other than to describe his ideal colleague as a workhorse who is “committed to the agenda” and can raise money.
He has, however, spoken about the matter with Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH), who is tasked with appointing Vance’s replacement.
Among the contenders are Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, former state GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Each would be forced to play catch-up with the other Senate freshmen if appointed, having missed orientation and the chance to shadow colleagues.
DeWine may even be tempted to appoint state Sen. Matt Dolan, a more establishment figure who unsuccessfully challenged Moreno in the Senate primary.
DeWine endorsed Dolan before throwing his support behind Moreno in the general election.
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“I’ve given him my point of view, and I think we’re aligned, actually,” Moreno said. “I think the governor and I see the same way. He may have the order of what I just said different than I would have the order, but fundamentally, we’re gonna get the right pick.”
Brown, for his part, has not ruled out a comeback Senate run when Vance’s seat comes back up for election in 2026.
