ALSO SEE: Democratic Establishment Prevails
as Brown Beats Turner in Ohio Special Election

Nina Turner Blames 'Evil Money' for Loss to Shontel Brown in Ohio Democratic Primary

By Darragh Roche, Newsweek

04 August 21

 

rogressive Democrat Nina Turner blamed "evil money" for her defeat in a special congressional primary election on Tuesday and pledged to make sure other progressive candidates didn't have the same experience.

Turner lost the Democratic primary in Ohio's 11th congressional district to Shontel Brown, who is a Cuyahoga County Council member and is widely seen as the candidate of the party's establishment.

In her concession speech in Cleveland, Turner took aim at super Political Action Committees (PACs) that had opposed her election, and invoked biblical language to describe her defeat.

Turner said that Americans have been on a "long justice journey through a desert of despair, indifference, inequality, and racism."

"Tonight my friends, we have looked across the promised land, but for this campaign, on this night, we will not cross the river," she said.

"Tonight our justice journey continues and I am proud to continue that journey with each and every one of you," Turner said to applause.

Turner went on: "I am going to work hard to ensure that something like this never happens to a progressive candidate again. We didn't lose this race—the evil money manipulated and maligned this election," she said.

Brown defeated Turner with 51 percent to 44 percent in a district where the Democratic nominee is almost certain to win the special election to the House of Representatives. The seat was vacated when former Representative Marcia Fudge joined the Biden administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

In a tweet earlier on Tuesday, Turner criticized super PACs for their involvement in the race.

"We've got billionaire-funded Super PACs fighting tooth and nail to stand in our way," Turner wrote. "They're spending millions to buy this election. We need real campaign finance reform in this country—but until then, let's show them that organized people work harder than Dark Money."

We've got billionaire-funded Super PACs fighting tooth and nail to stand in our way.

They're spending millions to buy this election. We need real campaign finance reform in this country—but until then, let's show them that organized people work harder than Dark Money.

— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) August 3, 2021

Turner, a former Ohio state senator, was accused of supporting Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in 2016 over the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Claims that Turner voted for Stein are unsubstantiated.

Turner led protests against Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and was offered the Green Party's vice presidential nomination that year, but she declined it. This has fed into long-running but unsubstantiated claims that Stein's campaign damaged Clinton's chances of winning the White House.

Stein told Newsweek: "The myth that Stein voters elected Trump is a voter shaming strategy used to suppress growing political discontent both inside and outside of the Democratic Party."

"It shouldn't be used against Nina Turner—however she voted—or anyone else. In fact, polls showed that Green voters in 2016 would overwhelmingly have stayed home if there was no Green in the race," she said.

Turner was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, while Brown was backed by Clinton and House Majority Whip James Clyburn. Brown is also facing a potential ethics investigation relating to allegations that she voted to award millions in contracts to companies connected to her romantic partner and campaign donors.