Before the Ohio primary next Tuesday, a leading Republican Senate candidate who is against LGBTQ+ rights is facing inquiries about a profile on a website for adult hook-ups linked to his email address.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that back in late 2008, a profile was created on the Adult Friend Finder site using an email from Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, and it sought sexual encounters with young guys.
The profile, labeled as “nardo19672,” contains a message saying, “Hi, looking for young guys to have fun with while traveling.” The username seems to refer to Moreno’s full first name, Bernardo, and his birth month and year. The profile also includes his full date of birth but no photo. According to the AP, geolocation data shows that the profile was set up in a part of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Moreno’s parents had a home in 2008. The profile has not been accessed since about six hours after its creation over 15 years ago.
The AP's report is based in part on records released in the adult site’s extensive 2016 data breach, as well as other information available to the public.
Republican party officials reportedly knew about the profile for at least a month and had already linked it to Moreno’s email before the AP’s report.
On Thursday, Moreno’s lawyer, Charles Harder, stated that Dan Ricci, an intern at Moreno’s company in late 2008, was responsible for creating the Adult Friend Finder profile.
“Nearly two decades ago, I am deeply embarrassed by an unsuccessful prank I played on my friend and former boss, Bernie Moreno,” Ricci stated in a release provided by Harder. According to the AP, Ricci contributed $6,599 to Moreno’s Senate campaign in 2023.
According to another statement from Moreno’s lawyer, former Bernie Moreno Companies vice president Helder Rosa confirmed that Ricci was an intern at the company in November 2008 and likely had access to Moreno’s email. Rosa has also donated to Moreno’s campaign, the AP reported.
Before his initial Senate bid in 2021, Moreno, who has stated that his oldest son is gay, was a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. But according to the AP, during his current campaign, he has accused advocates for LGBTQ+ rights of promoting a “radical” agenda of “indoctrination” and labeled opponents Frank LaRose, Ohio’s Secretary of State, and state Sen. Matt Dolan as supporters of a “radical trans agenda.” He has been endorsed by an anti-LGBTQ+ group called Ohio Values Voters.
However, an endorsement from former president and current presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump made Moreno a leading contender for Ohio’s hotly contested Senate seat this year. Now, sources told the AP, GOP officials in both Washington and Ohio are concerned that queries regarding the Adult Friend Finder profile could undermine the party’s chances of winning Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s Senate seat — and control of the chamber — if Moreno becomes their nominee.
Trump and Moreno will be together at a rally in Ohio on Saturday.
