Three-way race in Ohio's Republican Senate primary is neck and neck: The outcome could come down to whether voters are turned off by Trump-backed candidate's link to an adult sex website

A three-way race for the Republican nomination in the Ohio Republican Senate primary appears to be razor-thin with just days to go before voters head to the polls.

Matt Dolan, Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose are all running for the chance to take on Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in November as he seeks a fourth term.

The contest has turned into a Trump-wing of the Republican party face-off with the more establishment wing as the ex-president and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine have backed different candidates in the tense primary on Tuesday.

The Ohio senate race is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country. 

Brown is trying to hold onto a seat in a state that has become increasingly red over the past few elections. Republicans are confident they can flip it and several others to retake the Senate from the current one-seat Democrat majority.

An East Carolina University polls showed Dolan with a narrow lead at 33 percent on Friday to Trump-backed Moreno's 31 percent and LaRose's 23 percent among likely GOP voters. 

But an Ohio Northern University of Republican primary voters on Thursday showed DeWine-backed Moreno at 22 percent, Dolan at 18 percent and LaRose at 16 percent. 

And an 11th hour bombshell report linking Moreno to an adult sex website could determine the outcome in the race.

Republicans Matt Dolan (left), Frank LaRose (center) and Bernie Moreno (right) are in a three way race for the GOP Ohio Senate nomination and the chance to take Sen. Brown in November. The primary is March 19

Former President Trump endorsed Republican Bernie Moreno (second from right) in the GOP Ohio Senate primary

Moreno, who a businessman who owned multiple car dealerships, has the backing of Trump. 

The ex-president called Moreno 'the type of MAGA fighter that we need in the United States Senate' and 'successful political outsider' needed to defeat Brown.

Trump is heading to Dayton to rally for him on Saturday just days before the primary which could help propel him across the finish line.

Moreno also has the endorsement of close Trump ally Senator JD Vance. 

But Ohio's GOP governor on Monday backed Dolan, a state senator who also ran in 2022 but lost the primary to Vance. He also has the support of former GOP Senator Rob Portman. 

DeWine called Dolan the best candidate to win against Brown come November.

'In 2024, the Donald Trump endorsement it the loudest trumpet in the band,' said Ohio Republican strategist Mark Weaver. 'The DeWine and Portman endorsements are still heard, but more at the level of a clarinet.'

What Dolan does have going for him is great personal wealth which he has put behind his campaign allowing him to compete.

Another wrench in the race that could benefit Dolan is an 11th-hour Associated Press report that raises questions over Moreno being linked to an adult website profile. 

The AP review found Moreno's email linked to a 2008 Adult Friend Finder profile seeking 'Men for 1-on-1 sex.' 

Moreno’s lawyer responded insisting Moreno had nothing to do with the account and said a former intern created the account as a prank.

It is unclear how much of a doozy it will be for Moreno's bid, but Trump's campaign made clear he is not reconsidering the endorsement.

Polling third in the race is the current Ohio Secretary of State LaRose. He's running as 'proven, battle-tested conservative.'

Despite Moreno having the coveted Trump endorsement, both Dolan and LaRose have aligned themselves with the former president. LaRose touted Trump's support when he ran for secretary of state. Dolan said he backs Trump for president.

The state has shifted to a deeper red. Republicans control statewide offices and the legislature. Brown won re-election in 2018 but the last Democrat to win the presidential race in the state was Barack Obama.

This year, Republicans there expect to benefit with Trump at the top of the ballot and say Brown is toast, but Democrats remain bullish in their incumbent.

Gov. DeWine called Matt Dolan the best candidate to beat Sen. Sherrod Brown in November

Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine endorsed state Sen. Matt Dolan in the GOP primary

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is running in the GOP primary and has touted Trump's past support even as the ex-president has endorsed his opponent in the Senate primary

The state has shifted to a deeper red. Republicans control statewide offices and the legislature. Brown won reelection in 2018 but the last Democrat to win the presidential race in the state was Barack Obama.

This year, Republicans there expect to benefit with Trump at the top of the ballot and say Brown is toast, but Democrats remain bullish in their incumbent.

As Ohio plays front-and-center in the Republican path to a majority, Democrats have been meddling in the primary. 

The move is reminiscent of the gamble Democrats made in some 2022 primaries where they promoted conservative 'MAGA' candidates they believed Democrats had a better chance of beating in the general election. 

This time they are promoting Moreno in the primary.  In the ad that started airing Thursday, a narrator describes Moreno is 'too conservative for Ohio' and highlights the Trump endorsement, claiming he would do the ex-president's 'bidding' in Washington. On screen, images show Moreno with Trump. 

It was paid for by Duty and Country PAC which is largely funded through the Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC that works to help elect Democrats. 

Republicans have cried foul as at least $2.7 million in ad reservations were placed ahead of the primary.

A spokesperson for the Buckeye Leadership Fund, which supports Dolan, blasted the effort saying 'the prospect of Sherrod Brown going up against Republican Matt Dolan in November has Chuck Schumer so worried that he's injecting millions of dollars into Ohio, aimed at dragging Bernie Moreno across the finish line in Tuesday’s Republican primary.'

DeWine also slammed the effort saying Schumer and Democrats are running ads on Moreno because 'they know he’s the weakest candidate to beat Sherrod Brown this fall.'

But while the tight race goes into overdrive, the candidates have some similar stances on major issues. 

Like it has been across the country, the border has been the number one issue in the Ohio primary.

All three candidates have been vying as the toughest on immigration. None of them support for the Senate bipartisan border deal which was tanked by Republicans.

Dolan has called for closing the border. LaRose has called for deploying the military to the border. Moreno, an immigrant from Colombia, has called for changing the immigration laws on asylum and deporting all immigrants in the country illegally. 

The winner of the Ohio GOP Senate primary will take on Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown

Issues Democrats are sure to seize on in the general election: all three celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and have supported some level of federal abortion restriction.

All three have also been critical of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, and they have all attempted to tie Brown to President Biden. 

Democrats have also been accusing the GOP Senate hopefuls of trying to buy a Senate seat.  

The expensive primary has seen a significant amount of self-funding. 

Dolan loaned his campaign $9 million, a vast majority of the $11.4 million total raised. Moreno has also loaned his campaign more than $4 million, nearly half the his campaign's total receipts according to the latest filings. 

LaRose has also loaned his campaign funds but a much smaller amount by comparison: $250,000. 

The three-way race is already one of the most expensive in the country, and it expected to see a massive amount of spending later this year. 

According to AdImpact, there have already been more than $142 million in future ad reservations made for the fall.