I'm only surprised in the sense that none of the other big OH papers bothered to endorse anyone in this race, and expected them not to.
Of course, I would expect the Dispatch to endorse him if they bother. The point is that their endorsement is a good reason to vote for Pierce, and to make sure to get out and vote for Pierce, because they rarely endorse any kind of true conservative.
You can already see the roadmap to the Dispatch endorsing Brown in the fall, with the reference to the "most-conservative" wing of the party (Dispatch code for "extremists"). As soon as DeWine casts one vote agreeing with true conservatives, he'll be labeled an extremist, and they'll move to Brown.
Don't give them the satisfaction -- Vote Pierce, who would toast Sherrod Brown in the fall with a conservative turnout that would blow everyone away.
I doubt it.
While Pierce can be considered the Conservative of the race, it's very rare for the Dispatch to endorse a bomb-throwing leftist like Brown.
They'll endorse DeWhine if he wins the primary. Just watch.
They WON'T endorse Blackwell but they'd probably endorse Petro if he won.