Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan, who is running for Senate to try to unseat vulnerable Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, told Fox News Digital that he is the candidate best positioned to beat the longtime senator who he says has not represented the values of most Ohioans during his time in the Senate.  

“Last night I was in Cincinnati with a group, and it’s very clear we need to beat Sherrod Brown,” Dolan, who has served as a Republican state senator in Ohio since 2017, told Fox News Digital. “Sherrod Brown does not represent Ohio, and I think what they see in me is a conservative who’s gotten things done that have helped Ohio and can also put up my record against Sherrod Brown, who has a Washington record of just nothing but liberal agenda.”

Dolan, who is running in a tight race in the GOP primary against businessman Bernie Moreno and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, told Fox News Digital that Brown acts like he is “Mr. Ohio,” but champions issues that are out of step with Ohioans.

“I only have to go back 12 months where he went on Meet the Press and said when he travels Ohio he doesn’t hear anybody talk about immigration or the border except for the far right,” Dolan said. “So two things with that. He is completely out of touch about how much the open border under the Biden and Brown agenda is really hurting Ohio. It’s hurting Ohio directly by killing some of our citizens with fentanyl. Human trafficking is up in the United States and it’s hurting us economically because we’re spending government dollars to take care of these illegals at the expense of helping United States citizens, and he doesn’t even want to acknowledge it.”

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“Second, he’s doing what every politician does, both sides of the aisle, instead of tackling and taking ownership of the problem, he’s blaming other people. It’s always other people’s fault why something doesn’t get done and that’s why I’ve been laser focused. We have to secure and seal the border, stop people from coming in because we’re not going to change anything until we do that.“

On the economy, Dolan explained that both President Biden and Brown want to “talk about how there’s improvement in numbers” but the reality on the ground is different when you travel across the Buckeye State.

“People don’t feel secure,” Dolan said. “It’s $11,000 more per Ohio family since Biden took office and Brown’s doing nothing about it. Our interest rates, causing people not to buy homes, causing people not to build homes, and we need that to happen here, that we’re no longer energy independent in Ohio. That’s a big deal because we have the chance to be a leading state in energy independence.“

Dolan added that Ohio has the potential for an “economic revolution,” but Biden and Brown have “shut it down.”

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“They see Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden trying to expand the size of government and saying, ‘don’t worry, government will solve these problems,’ and people are sick of it, and they don’t feel secure. We got to change.”

The Ohio Senate race is one of just a few states expected to be a toss-up in November, and the GOP primary field shows a close race as well, with several polls showing the three Republicans all within striking distance of each other. An Emerson College poll in late January showed Moreno, who is endorsed by former President Trump, at 22%, Larose at 21%, and Dolan with 15%.

Over the past few weeks, the three Republicans have been making their case to voters on which of them is the most conservative in the race, including in heated exchanges on the debate stage. 

Dolan, who told Fox News Digital he has the most cash on hand and a strong ground game roughly a month from the primary on March 19, says he is in the “best position” as the most conservative candidate in the race who can then put up his record against Brown’s.

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“Unlike my two opponents in the Republican primary, I can point to a conservative record of achievement,” Dolan said. “These aren’t my words. My budgets are called the most conservative budgets in Ohio history, yet we get Democrats to vote for it because we understand that the conservative agenda helps all Ohioans and that’s the message I can take.”

Dolan continued, “Let’s face it, Sherrod Brown only wins 16 counties. That’s it. And I can do very well in those counties. Let’s take one, Cuyahoga County, Sherrod Brown got 72.5% of the vote. In that same county, I outperformed President Trump by 11 points, which means I’m the guy that can enact The Trump agenda, the policies that we all know will help America, will help Ohio, and I can appeal to those independents and say, ‘look, put us in charge and we will put an agenda together that helps you.’”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Friends of Sherrod Brown spokesperson Reeves Oyster said, “Sherrod is leading the fight with Republicans and Democrats to stop the flow of fentanyl across the southern border, and his bill targeting the chemical suppliers in China and the drug cartels in Mexico was a part of the border security bill backed by border patrol agents.” 

“While Sherrod is working to secure our southern border, protect Ohioans, and stand with law enforcement – his opponents are nowhere to be found.”