Biden Booster Brown Looms Large Over Leftist in OH-11

In results that clearly cheered the centrist wing of the Democratic Party, Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, Democratic Chairman Shontel Brown won the Democratic primary for the open seat in Ohio’s 11th District Tuesday.

Brown, considered a centrist in the mold of Joe Biden, beat the better-funded (and decidedly more leftist) Nina Turner by 50.3 to 44.3 percent, or 4,000 votes out of the 66,000 that were cast.

In many ways, the Brown-Turner bout was emblematic of the national fight in the Democratic Party between the centrists symbolized by Biden and the far-left, embodied by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—both of whom came to Cleveland to stump for former State Sen. Turner.

Turner’s candidacy became a “cause celebre” for most national leftist groups: Our Revolution, Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, Sanders, and every member of “The Squad” (a small group of leftist Democrats in the House symbolized by New York’s “AOC”).

A supporter of universal health care and someone who has voiced sympathies for the Palestinians, Turner became a target of the Democratic Majority for Israel Political Action Committee. In just a few months, the DMIPAC spent over $2 million highlighting Turner’s criticism of Israel and of President Biden.

Brown had the backing of Hillary Clinton and House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn —whose endorsement of Biden in 2020 helped him win the primary in South Carolina and thus jumpstart his failing campaign. In addition, the Congressional Black Caucus weighed in for Brown over Turner (who is also Black).

In a sense, Brown’s victory was the latest in a string of primaries in which the Biden wing of the party overcame candidates of the far left. Earlier this year, Bill Clinton Democrat and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe defeated several more leftist candidates to win another crack at the governorship, and Brooklyn Borough President and ex-policeman Eric Adams captured the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York on a strong law and order platform.