Incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown defeated Nina Turner in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District on May 3. As of Wednesday morning, Brown had received 66% of the vote to Turner’s 34%. This was a rematch. Brown defeated Turner 50% to 45% in the Aug. 3, 2021, special primary election.
Brown assumed office in November 2021, succeeding Rep. Marcia Fudge (D), who resigned that year to become U.S. secretary of housing and urban development. Brown said she had progressive bona fides and a commitment to bipartisanship. She said she kept her promise to voters to work with President Joe Biden (D) by voting for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which she said would “repair the bridge on Martin Luther King, replace every lead pipe, create thousands of jobs, and finally, every home in Cleveland will have access to high-speed internet.”
Turner said Brown had not done enough to change the material conditions for poor and low-income residents. Turner said when announcing her second bid for the district, “Voting the right way is one thing, but using the full force and weight of the office to fight for things is another. … And that is a primary difference between me and the person that holds that office.” Turner referred to her work on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Democratic presidential campaigns and said she would fight for Medicare for All, a living wage, and good union jobs.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Brown, a change from 2021 when it endorsed Turner. Brown became a member of the caucus after she took office. Brown’s other endorsers included President Joe Biden (D), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb (D), and the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC. Turner’s endorsers included Sanders, former Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson (D), and the cleveland.com editorial board.
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