Gov. Mike DeWine offers assessment of Ohio's race for U.S. Senate

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Gov. Mike DeWine weighed in on the race for U.S. Senate, warning that it will be a close result and giving his endorsement to Republican Bernie Moreno over the incumbent Democrat, Sherrod Brown.

DeWine was asked for his opinion on the race between Brown and Moreno. He said that the race will "come down to the wire," pointing out that it's one of the most expensive in the history of the United States.

"I think we’re going to have a very close race, I don’t think anyone has ever thought that this is not going to be close," DeWine said Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse. "This race will, between the two candidates, they will have spent, I think, more money than maybe any race in the history of the country, I don’t know, besides presidential."

DeWine's right in his assessment of the money surrounding this race. According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit government transparency group tracking money in politics, the Brown-Moreno race has seen the most outside spending of any Senate race, at $258.9 million; the most total spending, at $370 million; and the second most money raised, at $117.6 million.

A Republican, DeWine made sure to declare that he would support Moreno.

"Obviously, I’m voting for Bernie Moreno," DeWine said. "I think he will be a very fine United States senator, and I think it’s important that Republicans control the U.S. Senate."

The race could determine which party controls the chamber. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, but 34 of those seats are up for grabs. Of the 11 Republican-held seats headed to a vote, all are projected to stay with the party, but of the 23 Democrat-held seats, two are leaning toward Republican candidates and another four are considered tossups, according to The Cook Political Report.