COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – US Democratic Representative Shontel Brown defeated former US Senator Nina Turner for the second time since last summer, easily winning Tuesday’s Ohio primary, declared nationally a key battle between the more moderate establishment. the party and its progressive activist.
Brown, who campaigned with South Carolina’s Jim Clayburn, the top black member of Congress, and as a strong ally on President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, led Turner in the July special election – and did so again.
The primaries in Ohio and neighboring Rust Belt in Indiana have helped move to a high-speed mid-season that will see Democrats try to defend their razor-sharp majority in Congress this November.
A former Democratic district chairman, Brown has only been in Congress for a few months, but has come into rematch with the incumbent. Turner, a leading surrogate for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020, was backed by a Vermont senator and senior progressive groups hoping for frustration on a second try.
The Cleveland County, where Brown and Turner stood, is strongly African-American and solidly democratic, making Brown strongly preferred to retain his seat in the November general election. Our Revolution, an activist group that grew out of Sanders’ first presidential election, said it dedicated 150 volunteers to encouraging Turner in the race, while pro-Israel Democratic political organization DMFI PAC said it had spent more than $ 1 million on Brown.
“During Representative Brown’s five short months in Congress, she proved to be a staunch defender of the people of her county and a fierce fighter for the Democratic agenda and our party’s values,” DMFI PAC President Mark Melman said in a statement. “Ohio Democrats have sent a clear message that they want candidates who want to unite the party.”
Turner tweeted a video in which she chanted loudly with supporters: “We’ll get better.” She told them that this was her lasting message to the progressive movement.
Elsewhere, Republican Warren Davidson addressed a major challenge from Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, the son of a prominent physician known for his suffocation maneuver. Davidson was backed by former President Donald Trump – whose support helped author JD Vance win the much-watched Republican primary for the Ohio Senate Open on Tuesday – while Heimlich criticized the former president.
Trump’s support proved valuable in other primary elections in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Former Trump aide Max Miller has shut down Republican nominations in a new district in the northeastern part of the state, despite being accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, former White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham.
Meanwhile, the Akron area, where Trump’s other choice, conservative commentator Madison Gilbert, won the Republican nomination, is set to be one of the most likely seats in the House of Representatives in November’s general election. She will face U.S. Emilia Sykes, a former Democratic leader in the Ohio House and the daughter of an influential political family in the area.
Conservative activist group FreedomWorks for America has promised that Gilbert will pull Congress “out from under the thumb of the radical left.”
“Gilbert is the real deal, a fact that Ohio residents echoed with their votes tonight,” said Noah Wall, FreedomWorks CEO for America. “We are excited to continue to mobilize our army from the population on behalf of Gilbert as it moves toward general elections.
Another tough race for Congress could come to Cincinnati in November, when Republican Steve Chabot will face Cincinnati Democratic City Council member Greg Landsman.
The Democratic Republic of Marcy Captur, the longest-serving woman in the House of Representatives, has been in office since 1983 and had no resistance to Tuesday’s election. However, four Republicans – including two incumbent U.S. lawmakers – competed to take it in the fall in the newly delineated area of Lake Erie, which could be a toss. The Republican primary there was still too early to convene.
In Indiana, former U.S. Sen. Erin Huchin is ahead of eight other Republicans, including former U.S. Representative Mike Sodrell, for the party’s nomination for the state’s only open parliament seat and will be greatly favored in November. Republican MP Trey Hollingsworth is not seeking re-election in his southern Indiana county, as he hints that he will run for governor in 2024.
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Weissert reported from Washington.
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