Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-OH) decisively won the Democratic primary in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District Tuesday night, once again fending off progressive activist Nina Turner, who mounted a rematch bid against her this year.
Turner and Brown last faced off in August 2021 in the Democratic special-election primary to replace Marcia Fudge, who left her seat in Congress to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Their race attracted swells of outside spending and drew tense divides between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party.
While the rematch was quieter, the fissures that emerged during last year’s contest remained. Brown’s brief tenure in the House won her endorsements from a number of key Democratic players, including President Joe Biden, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, among others.
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Turner, however, still drew some endorsements from the more progressive left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and a number of outside groups. She argued Brown was too dependent on PAC money—that she was the more active fighter for progressives’ legislative priorities.
Ohio’s 11th District is heavily Democratic, meaning Brown is likely to face little contest from the Republican nominee. Turner, meanwhile, isn’t expected to disappear from the world of progressive politics. Her name has been floated as a potential 2024 candidate for the presidency, with questions remaining on whether Biden will run for re-election.
