Oxford, Ohio — With early voting underway in Ohio, the stakes in the Buckeye state’s Senate race couldn’t be higher. The tight contest between incumbent Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican outsider Bernie Moreno will be among the most decisive races determining control of the U.S. Senate. Sen. Brown has had a steady lead in the polls, but the gap has narrowed considerably in recent weeks. Identifying Ohio as “a microcosm of the nation,” Vivek recognized that the state had long been one of the most innovative and prosperous. Recent internal polling by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has Moreno actually leading by two points, fueling further optimism for Republicans (most polls have Brown with a slight lead). With growing momentum for Moreno, big-name conservatives have come to the state to try to help push Moreno over the finish line. A case in point was the October 10 Future Leaders Forum at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio featuring former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative talk-show host Ben Shapiro. The event was hosted by the Ohio College Republicans Federation (OCRF) and Miami College Republicans, with local and state officials across the Butler County area in attendance to rally around the Republican Senate nominee. What Moreno, Vivek, and Shapiro Said For the first 90 minutes of the event, OCRF members welcomed and informed attendees of their recent notable successes with voter registration across Ohio and in assisting Ohio Republican candidates across the state. Then came Moreno and Vivek. They addressed a crowd of about 200, with Moreno starting his 45 minute speech with a NASCAR analogy to the three-lined posts used to help racers know when to turn on the track. Moreno told the crowd that America is the car that has already past the post with the one line, a jumping point for the rest of his energetic talk. Moreno focused on his life experiences and lessons as a businessman in helping him formulate his conservative views. He then dove into the failures of Sherrod Brown, highlighting the fact that when Brown first ran for office, the two issues he ran on were restoring manufacturing jobs — Ohio has since lost around 200,000 manufacturing jobs — and backing term limits, which Brown now opposes. “It’s very simple,” said Moreno. “If Kamala wins and Sherrod wins re-election, we will go off the cliff.” Despite that dire assessment, Moreno ended on an optimistic note, insisting that young conservatives today have the opportunity to not just help him win a Senate majority for Republicans, but to get the country back on track towards freedom and prosperity. Following Moreno, Vivek spoke about America’s problems from a more philosophical and historical perspective, insisting that he’s optimistic about Trump’s and Moreno’s chances in 2024, but also that today’s problems can’t be addressed unless their root causes are properly understood.  America, he said, suffers from a “national identity crisis” that finds too many of our young people not proud to be Americans and citing a 30-40 percent recruitment deficit across all three military branches. How did the country come to this point? According to Vivek, the answer starts with LBJ’s Great Society. During the 1960s, the nation underwent “a second American Revolution and second Constitutional Convention.” LBJ’s Great Society led Americans to surrender their own self-governance in exchange for “free” stuff, thus giving way to the welfare state. For decades, this bargain became the status quo until the government ran out of “free” material. “What happens to the bargain when you run out of stuff?” asked Vivek. He said the nation has been heading towards revolt as Americans now lack both the material benefits promised to them as well as their ability to self-govern. In turn, the progressive solution to our impending bankruptcy has been “tax the rich,” a non-answer reflecting the “bleak moment” at which we have arrived and must move past. While Shapiro originally planned to be at the forum for the fireside chat with Moreno and Vivek, he arrived late due to flight delays in Florida, where his family had been dealing with hurricanes Helene and Milton. Though he didn’t speak for long, Shapiro spoke vigorously and passionately made his case for Moreno. He told Ohioans that if they do their part in helping Moreno, not only would Ohio rid itself of Sherrod Brown but it would secure Republican control of the Senate. The Prospects for Conservatism Though much of the forum’s attention focused on Moreno and encouraging young Republicans to help him win in November, a major theme was the future of conservatism. Moreno stated that today’s political environment is one characterized between two opposing philosophies, one being big government and “total control” progressivism versus pro-freedom and “self-determination” conservatism. Echoing Vivek’s sentiment, Moreno said that Americans today “have forgotten what makes this country special.” On the plus side, Moreno believes that we’re witnessing a revival of America’s founding principles. This is drawing people to conservatism and helping them rediscover what it means to be patriotic and prosperous without government telling them what to do. For Vivek, the conservatism of the present and future must seek to dismantle the deep state. “We don’t want a left nanny state or right nanny state,” he said. “We want to dismantle the nanny state and shut it down.” Vivek said that while progressivism has pushed the country towards indigence and stifled incentives for innovation, young people are beginning to see that conservative principles strive for prosperity. Identifying Ohio as “a microcosm of the nation,” Vivek recognized that the state had long been one of the most innovative and prosperous. Unfortunately, he explained, progressivism and failed promises have stifled the pioneering and frontier spirit the state once had. Vivek believes that Ohioans and Americans generally are desiring a return to the pioneering spirit offered by conservatives, especially young conservatives. “We can be victims or victors,” said Vivek, and conservatives have the “values, record, and enthusiasm” to show that America can once again be a nation of victors. Shapiro seconded this point, insisting that like Ohio, America can once again be a nation of innovators, pioneers, and entrepreneurs. While the event at Miami University of Ohio aimed to bolster Bernie Moreno’s prospects for the U.S. Senate, it also bolstered conservatism’s prospects for America. The ultimate prospects for both remain to be seen. READ MORE from Hunter Oswald: Iran Pushes the Middle East Closer to Catastrophe Progressives Are Trying to Make Ohio More Like Michigan The post Ohio Senate Race: Moreno Scores Vivek and Shapiro appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.