The Ohio Primary Election is just two weeks away and one of the biggest races is the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator.

Frank LaRose, Ohio's current Secretary of State, is one of the three hopefuls vying for the Republican spot in the November election against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.

21 News spoke with LaRose Tuesday ahead of the primary election.

You can listen to the full podcast here:

Likely Republican presidential nominee, former president Donald Trump, has had his shadow loom over the Ohio race. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley remains Trump's only challenger since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race.

Haley has stayed in the race, collecting 43 delegates to Trump's 273.

Haley has brought in between 20 and 40 percent in many of the early primaries, which would seem to point to enough of a split in the Republican party that could sway a general election if her supporters either stay home or otherwise refuse to vote for Trump as the nominee. 

21 News asked LaRose if he had a message to Ohio Republicans who may prefer Haley over the former president. He appealed to all Republicans to come together regardless of their favored presidential candidate. 

"I'm my own man, I'm a conservative Ohio Republican that believes we have a country to save," LaRose said. "The agenda I have aligns very well with President Trump, that's why I've endorsed him and that's why I support him and that's why, by the way, I would be a great ally of his in the U.S. Senate. But what we need to do is unite the conservative movement and take on our true opponents."

In many major polls, LaRose is polling third in the race. We asked if making himself the face of efforts to raise the threshold for constitutional amendments to 60% and an effort to limit reproductive rights. Both of those efforts were repudiated by voters, with Ohioans turning out nearly 60 percent in opposition to LaRose's position . LaRose positioned those losses in the best light possible, claiming they both serve as a sign to voters that he stands on his principles even if they're not popular. 

"Ohioans know that I'm a guy that runs into battle, not just when it's easy, but when it's right," LaRose said. "I'm someone that takes on the tough challenges because it's the right thing to do. That was what I did last year."

LaRose also stated his stance that religious organizations should never have to do things that are contrary to their religious beliefs, specifically highlighting same sex marriage.  When presented with an example of some Evangelical churches citing religion as a reason to support segregation during the civil rights movement. LaRose said he was not referring to examples from 50 years ago, but when pressed, said this exemption to anti-discrimination laws would be absolute. 

"The free expression of religion includes, by the way, no heavy-handed government regulations that would require a church to do something they consider inconsistent with their beliefs."

LaRose cites support for the transgender community as a key issue he is opposed to, claiming it is harmful to children. 

We pointed out that only an approximate 1.03 percent of the U.S. population identifies as transgender, but that roughly 40 percent of those have attempted suicide due to marginalization. We asked LaRose if he's concerned that supporting an anti-transgender platform is doing these people additional harm, which he rejected. 

"What causes children harm is when adults bring their ideology into this conversation. If you're a grown-up and you want to go see a surgeon, you're free to do that. I don't understand it, but it's your freedom to do it," LaRose said. "Leave the kids alone. Kids are not allowed to get a tattoo or even something like a piercing without parental approval. Certainly, an irrevocable change to someone's body absolutely should not be allowed for children."

21 News also asked about his plan to improve healthcare in the United States, citing studies that show the United States paying more and having worse outcomes than several other developed countries. LaRose agreed, but rejected any notion of universal healthcare that's used in other nations, calling instead for a free market approach. 

"We need to see more competition and transparency. Try to figure out exactly what it is you're paying for when you get a hospital bill and its like trying to read hieroglyphics," he said. "It's not something that allows for there to be that free market consumer choice that really drives innovation and competition and keeps prices low in so many other facets of society."

LaRose said his main issue is the economy and making the Trump tax cuts permanent. He said he also wants to do regulatory reform, namely in the energy sector.

He also said border security, including finishing the wall and deploying the military at the border to "stop the invasion."

Secretary of State LaRose also called for abolishing the United States Department of Education and allowing parents more say over their children's education, claiming without evidence that children are being indoctrinated in classrooms rather than taught. When asked where the line between parents' wishes and educational professionals would be drawn, LaRose said parents always know best, but qualified that local school boards who are elected by local parents would be better suited to make these decisions. He also allowed for exemptions for abusive parents. 

When asked why his position on what can be taught in the classroom has limitations, but he does not support any limitations on gun rights despite the prevalence of school shootings in the United States, LaRose said he did not see the correlation between the two and that citizens being armed was a key tenet of freedom and self-defense.