CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner made it clear on Tuesday night that she was down, but not out, after decisively losing her rematch with U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown for a congressional seat that includes Cleveland, Lakewood and eastern Cuyahoga County.
After telling supporters that corporate interests thwarted her second drive to win the 11th district seat that Brown captured in last year’s special election to replace Marcia Fudge, who became President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Turner declared, “they can’t contain this Black girl magic.”
She described plans to campaign in states that host key presidential contests, saying she will “take this magic all over the country and shake it that way, and baby, 2024 is coming.”
“I think the great state of California got something to say about what Sister Turner should do,” she said. “The great state of Iowa got something to say about what Sister Turner should do. The great state of Nevada got something to say about what Sister Turner should do.”
She likened her plans to basketball great LeBron James’ decision to leave Cleveland’s Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“LeBron James decided to take his skills to South Beach, but what Sister Turner’s gonna do is to continue taking my skills all over this nation,” she said. “And I’m gonna see some folks in 2024.”
According to unofficial results, Turner obtained 33.7 percent of the vote on Tuesday, compared with 66.3 percent for Brown, a former Cuyahoga County Council member and county Democratic party chair. She had hoped for a different outcome after the district was remapped to drop parts of Summit County it once included and added parts of Cuyahoga County that weren’t in the old district, such as Lakewood and sections of the Hillcrest area. Turner said voters in the new parts of the district deserved an opportunity to weigh in on who their congressional representative should be.
Although the district’s geography has changed, it remains the state’s most demographically Democratic district. Dave’s Redistricting App reckons around 78 percent of the 11th district’s voters are Democrats, so the winner of the Democratic primary is favored to win the November general election against the Republican nominee, former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer.
Turner raised far more money than Brown during the two-year election cycle. Of the $6.4 million she collected, $6.1 million came from individuals, statistics from PoliticalMoneyLine indicate. The organization’s statistics indicate that 12% of the money Turner collected came from people in Ohio. She collected more than twice as much money from California donors as she did from those in Ohio, which was her second-highest state.
Of the nearly $4 million that Brown collected in the election cycle, $738,050 came from political action committees. Statistics from PoliticalMoneyLine show 36.7% of her donations came from Ohio. She collected more than three times as much money from Ohioans as she did from people in California, which was her second-highest donor state.
Outside organizations spent a significant amount of money on the race. Most weighed in on Brown’s behalf. The Democratic Majority for Israel’s political action committee, DFMI PAC, spent more than $1 million to help Brown during this election, on top of the $2 million it spent during last year’s special election. The Protect our Future PAC, run by crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, also spent more than $1 million.
A statement from Brown thanked the district’s Democratic voters “for putting your faith in me again. Last night’s victory confirmed your trust that I will continue to fight and deliver opportunities for an equitable recovery from the pandemic, quality health for all, and a livable wage for the people of Northeast Ohio. I stand before you as the tireless fighter our democracy needs when our civil and human rights are in danger and vow to you that my work in Congress is just getting started.”
President Joe Biden, who endorsed Brown, released his own statement to congratulate her, calling her primary victory “an important step forward toward building a better Ohio and a better America.” He also telephoned Brown on election night, the White House said.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who supported Shontel Brown’s re-election and campaigned with her in Lakewood three days before the election, described the race as “one-sided.”
“I’m glad she won,” said Brown, who is not related to Rep. Brown. “I’m not surprised by it.”
Sherrod Brown said he has no opinion on whether Turner should seek the White House in two years but said many of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate have thought of doing so. Brown weighed running for president in 2020 but decided against it, saying he loves his current job and didn’t want to have to put everything aside to campaign.
Longshot presidential bids launched by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised their national profile and ability to fundraise but did not land either of them anywhere near the Oval Office.
University of Virginia political analyst Kyle Kondik, a native of Independence, Ohio, predicted Turner would not be a top-tier presidential contender after losing a congressional primary by such a large margin.
Ohio State University emeritus political science professor Herb Asher agreed that a presidential campaign by Turner would probably not be successful but he said it might draw attention to her progressive views and pressure the Democratic party in that direction.
“As someone who is not in office, she would have a bit more independence,” says Asher, who knew Turner when she was in the state legislature. “And the media know her, so she brings some instant recognition to her activities.”
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