Donald Trump and Bernie Moreno to speak at campaign rally in Dayton today

Mar. 16—Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear today as a guest speaker at a rally in Dayton hosted by a group supporting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.

Trump and Moreno are both scheduled to appear at the Buckeye Values PAC rally at Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at 3700 McCauley Drive, which is on the grounds of the Dayton International Airport, according to his campaign. The event begins at 4 p.m. and doors open at noon.

Trump is the presumptive Republican Party nominee for president and will face President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, and possibly other candidates in November's General Election.

Trump endorsed Moreno, a Westlake businessman who is running against state Sen. Matt Dolan of Chagrin Falls and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose of Columbus in the March 19 primary. In November the winner will challenge incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is unopposed in his primary.

Trump's most recent campaign stop in the area was also at Wright Bros. Aero, where he campaigned on Nov. 7, 2022 for J.D. Vance, who was elected to the U.S. Senate later that month.

"President Trump is a transformational leader for America and we are so excited to rally with him ahead of Tuesday's crucial election. President Trump knows just how important this election is — it's a contest between the America-First Republican Party and the broken down RINO establishment," Moreno said in a statement released by his campaign earlier this week.

Moreno also has endorsements from Vance, and area congressmen Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy; and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana.

Dolan is endorsed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.

LaRose is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton; and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones.

"Bernie Moreno can't beat Sherrod Brown and he won't win this primary. This last minute attempt to drag his struggling campaign across the finish line will only make it harder and more expensive to win the senate in November," Dolan campaign spokesman Chris Maloney said earlier this week.

"President Trump's visit is a reminder of the strength of America under his presidency and the disaster we face under President Biden," LaRose said in a statement released Saturday. "I welcome President Trump to Ohio and look forward to working with him to fix our nation as Ohio's next senator."

Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., said Montgomery County is a large, important county in the Ohio primary so it's not surprising Trump would stump here for Moreno right before Election Day.

"There's a lot of energy about former president Trump coming to our community," he said. "It'll be an interesting primary."

Local Democrats meanwhile derided the planned Trump visit.

"Donald Trump and Bernie Moreno will take the stage on Saturday to push their anti-worker, anti-choice agenda for Ohio," said Mohamed Al-Hamdani, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party in comments earlier this week. "Trump and Moreno are both out-of-touch millionaires who have been sued for stealing their employees' wages and who support extreme national abortion bans. They don't stand with Ohio's working families and no amount of campaign rally lip-service will fool Ohio voters."

Those interested in attending can get tickets at https://www.donaldjtrump.com/events.

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