Bernie Moreno states his goals for office if he were elected as senator

MEDINA — U.S. Senate Republican primary candidate Bernie Moreno believes the American dream is a "dream that's under assault," he said during a campaign tour stop in Medina on Wednesday. Moreno was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1967. He said when he was 5 years old, his family left their well-off life in Colombia to move to the United States, and since then people have often told him he embodies the American dream. "When I came to Ohio, I had the opportunity to buy a dealership," he said. "I put every cent I had and built that dealership from literally nothing and created an amazing, billion-dollar company, but that's not, to me, the American dream." Instead, Moreno said he sees the American dream in his father-in-law who raised three children in a nice house and is now retired. He thinks the dream is becoming increasingly out of reach for many families. "Do you feel like you can afford a nice home and buy a car and have kids?" he said. "When I was (younger), that never crossed my mind. In my mind, I was like, 'I live in America, of course I can afford a house." Therefore, Moreno said the biggest challenge facing Ohioans is the increasing cost of living. He believes using American energy and cutting a lot of government spending would help solve the problem. "You go to the gas station, you're getting crushed," he said. "You go to the grocery store … you see moms and dads going to the checkout lane and returning food because they can't afford what they've bought forever." Moreno also spoke about other goals he had if he were elected as U.S. senator. He said he would like to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education and have schools be handled at the local level. "We got to put schools back in the hands of parents and local communities," he said. His other priorities are to not have Americans fighting in Ukraine and to have "no tolerance for illegal immigration," Moreno said. "We have to secure the border," he said. "We have to make it crystal clear. We want immigrants in this country as long as they assimilate, learn English, add to our economy and don't lower our wages. That's the deal." Moreno said voters should know his intention is to only serve a maximum of two terms as senator if he were elected to the position rather than having a longtime career as a politician. "Going to Washington, D.C., should be about serving the country to get a real problem solved and most importantly, coming home," he said. Moreno is running against state Sen. Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose in the Republican primary. Incumbent Sherrod Brown is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for U.S. senator. Election Day is Tuesday. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.