Live updates: Trump racks up more endorsements as Biden courts Nikki Haley voters after she exits race

The three Republicans competing in Ohio’s March 19 Senate primary met tonight for their final debate — an hourlong clash that repeatedly focused on Trump and how closely the candidates hew to conservative ideology.

“Who do you trust?” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose asked in the early minutes at Miami University in Oxford. “You’re going to hear a lot of talking points tonight from both of my opponents. They’re both desperate to convince you that they’re conservatives.”

“Do you want a senator that’s going to have President Trump’s back, that has his endorsement?” Moreno asked, before he name-checked more moderate Republicans. “Or do you want the Nikki Haley-Liz Cheney-Mitt Romney wing of the party? That’s the choice.”

State Sen. Matt Dolan, the only candidate who hasn’t tried to merge his political identity with Trump’s, was also the only candidate not to mention Trump in his opening statement.

“I know some of you don’t always agree with what I’ve said, but I can guarantee you this: You know it’s always been about Ohio,” said Dolan, who often emphasizes that he supports Trump policies. “My opponents are reinventing themselves for their political interest.”

The winner of the primary will face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.

LaRose and Moreno were critics of Trump in 2016, before he was elected president. And both have come under scrutiny for shifting their policy positions and tone over the years. LaRose, once a proud No Labels moderate, now tacks much further right. Moreno needled him tonight for a call the centrist group had planned with him this week but canceled at the last minute.

Dolan’s more consistent ambivalence about Trump became a focal point later in the debate, when LaRose pressed him to endorse the former president’s 2024 campaign.

“Of course I’m going to support President Trump,” Dolan replied. “But here’s the thing: I am going to fight for Ohio. My commitment in this race has always been about you.”

During another round of Trump questions, Dolan sought a little distance.

“His personality? It’s not me. His political style? It’s not me,” Dolan said. “But his policies that make your life better, that make America stronger, that will make Ohio stronger? That is me.”

LaRose acknowledged that people “may find [Trump’s] personality abrasive.”

Moreno, who eight years ago called Trump a “maniac,” keyed in on their comments.

“Let me just say something that needs to be said that hasn’t been said,” Moreno said. “He’s a good man. President Trump’s a good man. This idea that I support his policies but not the personal — it’s a bunch of BS.”

Nicholas Barry, a Miami University student who watched the debate, said he thought Moreno touted the Trump endorsement too much.

“I would prefer him to be able to stand on his own two legs, rather than using MAGA as a crutch,” said Barry, 20, who added that he thought LaRose won the debate.

Another student, Matthew Lodge, 20, said he didn’t see a clear winner.

“There was, however, a clear loser,” Lodge said. “Republican moderates.”