Rep. Shontel Brown Wins Against Nina Turner In Tense Ohio Democratic Primary
Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner decisively lost in her rematch against Rep. Shontel Brown in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 11th district.
According to NBC News, as of last night (May 4), Brown was leading with 65.3 percent of the vote to Turner’s 34.7 percent.
Brown, who was endorsed by President Biden, said during last night’s victory speech, “This is another hard-fought victory. I’m going to continue to show up for you.”
Turner also lost to Brown in a special primary back in August of 2021. The seat was previously held by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge in the overwhelmingly Democratic 11th Congressional District, which is also undergoing a redistricting plan.
After winning Tuesday night, Biden congratulated Brown on her primary victory, calling it an “important step forward toward building a better Ohio and better America,” in a statement, according to The Hill.
Turner, who had served as co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, was backed by progressives who wanted to unseat Brown. But Justice Democrats, a progressive political activist organization, said Republican donors had funneled money toward defeating her and other candidates like her. “The reality is our organization has to be strategic about our priorities as we are getting massively outgunned by Republican donors funneling millions to SuperPACs like AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and DMFI [Democratic Majority for Israel] against our existing candidates,” Justice Democrats said in a statement.
In the 1960s, the Black population accounted for 65 percent of the district’s population, encompassing Cleveland’s East Side and its nearby suburbs. Three decades later, statistics in the Almanac of American Politics find that the Black population makes up only 58 percent of the district. After the 2010 census, that number became 55.5 percent.
The current district, which has expanded to include Akron’s Black population after the 2010 census, proved it could not remain majority-minority if it was solely confined to Cuyahoga County, which is now less than 53 percent Black, according to census statistics.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a Republican-drawn map because it was believed to be partisan.
