Nina Turner blames ‘evil money’ for loss of Shontel Brown in Ohio Democratic primary

Progressive Democrat Nina Turner blamed “evil money” for her defeat in a Congressional special primary election on Tuesday and pledged to make sure other progressive candidates don’t have the same experience.

Turner lost the Democratic primary in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District to Shontel Brown, a member of the Cuyahoga County Council and widely regarded as the party’s establishment candidate.

In his concession speech in Cleveland, Turner targeted the super political action committees (PACs) that opposed his election and invoked biblical language to describe his defeat.

Turner said Americans have made a “long journey to justice through a wasteland of despair, indifference, inequality and racism.”

“Tonight my friends, we looked across the promised land, but for this campaign, tonight, we will not cross the river,” she said.

“Tonight our journey to righteousness continues and I am proud to continue this journey with each of you,” Turner said to applause.

Turner continued, “I’m going to work hard to make sure something like this never happens to a progressive candidate again. We haven’t lost this race – evil money has manipulated and slandered this election,” he said. she declared.

Brown beat Turner with 51% to 44% in a district where the Democratic candidate is almost certain to win the special election in the House of Representatives. The seat fell vacant when former Rep. Marcia Fudge joined the Biden administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

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

“We have billionaire-funded Super PACs fighting tooth and nail to get in our way,” Turner wrote. “They are spending millions to buy this election. We need real campaign finance reform in this country, but until then let’s show them organized people work harder than Dark Money.”

We have Super PACs funded by billionaires fighting tooth and nail to get in our way.

They are spending millions to buy this election. We need real campaign finance reform in this country, but until then let’s show them 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 against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Claims that Turner voted for Stein are unfounded.

Turner led protests against Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and was offered the Green Party vice-presidential nomination that year, but turned it down. This fueled long-standing but unsubstantiated claims that Stein’s campaign hurt Clinton’s chances of winning the White House.

Stein said News week: “The myth that Stein’s voters elected Trump is a voter shaming strategy used to quell growing political discontent both inside and outside the Democratic Party.”

“This shouldn’t be used against Nina Turner, regardless of her vote, or against anyone else. In fact, polls have shown Green voters in 2016 would have stayed home if they didn’t. there was no green in the race, ”she said.

Turner was backed by Sen. 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 the subject of a potential ethics investigation over allegations that she voted to award millions of contracts to companies linked to her romantic partner and campaign donors.

News week asked for feedback from the Nina Turner and Shontel Brown campaigns.