Shontel Brown wins US House seat in Ohio

OHIO-Shontel Brown, 46, a Cuyahoga County Council member who also chairs the county Democratic Party, won the Cleveland-area House seat formerly held by Marcia Fudge, who stepped down to become housing and urban development secretary in the Biden administration.

Brown defeated Republican Laverne Gore, a business owner and activist, in the heavily Democratic district that stretches from Cleveland to Akron. She said she is ready to get to work.

“I am committed to going to Washington as a unifier, and will work with President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress to lead a swift health and economic recovery from the pandemic for Ohioans,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown will fill the remainder of her predecessors’ term, which runs until January 2023. She must face reelection again next year under a congressional map that’s being redrawn to hold onto the seat.

NINA TURNER FILES 2022 CAMPAIGN PAPERS

Former Ohio State SEN. Nina Turner has filed “statement of candidacy” election papers to challenge Shontel Brown for the Cleveland-area congressional district’s Democratic primary in 2022, federal campaign records show, though she has not made a final decision on whether to officially run.

Turner’s filing allows her to keep her campaign apparatus running while making a final decision on a 2022 bid although the filing does not guarantee she will make a bid.

Turner noted that Brown will only have been in office for a short time before the next race begins, and the district lines will be redrawn as a result of redistricting. If the district becomes more working-class, Turner has a better shot, but if it incorporates more of the wealthier suburbs that leaned toward Brown, Turner will have a harder time. “The lines will be different, and also if the person takes office, they can’t take office before November. It’d [then] be the holidays. You know? And then it’s January, right? And February,” she observed.

The Democratic primary is scheduled for May 2022.

[SOURCE: THEINTERCEPT]

Shontel Brown interview after her victory in Ohio Democratic Primary

Democrat Shontel Brown won a special election primary Tuesday in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. Brown joined MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss the primary and her win against former state senator Nina Turner. Watch the interview below.

Democrat Shontel Brown defeats Nina Turner in primary for open House seat

Shontel Brown, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair and a county councilwoman, on Tuesday won the Democratic primary in the race for former Rep. Marcia Fudge's seat, after opponent Nina Turner conceded.

Brown will be the overwhelming favorite to win the Nov. 2 general election.

"I am eternally grateful," she told a group of supporters on Tuesday night. "I am completely overwhelmed by all of you that have showed up and showed out on my behalf. This was a collaborative partnership of the community."

She added: "This isn't an all-or-nothing thing. This is about making progress. Sometimes, it takes compromise."

Rep. James Clyburn endorses Shontel Brown for Congress

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown added the highest-ranking Black member of Congress to her list of endorsements Tuesday as South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn made his preference known in the 11th Congressional District special election.

Clyburn, the U.S. House majority whip and a friend of former seat-holder Marcia Fudge, also cut an ad for Brown to air on Cleveland television. The New York Times first reported Clyburn’s endorsement.

Clyburn said Turner’s outspokenness against the Democratic establishment was not a primary factor in his decision, though bristled at some of the activism of the more liberal wing of the party, including Turner.

“What I try to do is demonstrate by precept and example how we are to proceed as a party,” Clyburn said in an interview with the Times. “When I spoke out against sloganeering, like ‘Burn, baby, burn’ in the 1960s and ‘defund the police,’ which I think is cutting the throats of the party, I know exactly where my constituents are. They are against that, and I’m against that.”

[SOURCE: CLEVELAND.COM]