Trumpbacked candidate, moderate Democrat win
A Democratic candidate backed by the party establishment and a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump won two primary races for open House seats in Ohio on Tuesday, an assertion of dominance for the leadership of both political parties as they face questions over unity in their ranks.
In a Democratic primary in northern Ohio, Shontel Brown, who vowed to be “a partner” with the Biden administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, prevailed over Nina Turner, a party outsider who openly rejected the idea that Democrats are more effective through conciliation and compromise. Late Tuesday, Brown was leading by more than 5 percentage points, and Turner conceded the race.
And in a Republican primary near Columbus, Mike Carey, a newcomer to elected office who was largely unknown before being endorsed by Trump, easily beat out 11 rivals, many of them with much longer records in Ohio politics.
Between the two races, the Democratic fight for the deepblue 11th District around Cleveland and Akron was the most closely watched as a national bellwether. Prominent Democratic politicians and money from national interest groups cascaded into the district over the past several weeks, leaving a trail of ill will and weariness in their wake.
Though Turner was helped on the ground by hundreds of organizers and volunteers from leftleaning organizations and outspent Brown in the early phase of the race, it was not enough in the end to overcome the onslaught of advertising against her, or the unified wall of resistance to her candidacy from pillars of the Democratic establishment.
“I am going to work hard to ensure that something like this never happens to a progressive candidate again,” Turner said in her concession speech. “We didn’t lose this race. Evil money manipulated and maligned this election.”
Brown, 45, a county Democratic Party chair, was endorsed by an array of local, state and federal officials who prided themselves on their ties to leadership in Washington. That coalition rallied against Turner, an unapologetically sharptongued progressive activist and former state senator who campaigned as a disrupter of the political status quo.
In the election in the Republicanleaning 15th Congressional District near Columbus on Tuesday, Carey, an energy lobbyist, handily prevailed over a crowded field after Trump endorsed him and elevated him from virtual anonymity. Late Tuesday, Carey was leading his nearest opponents by more than 20 percentage points.
Trump’s credibility as the gatekeeper for the Republican Party had been dented somewhat after the candidate he endorsed in a special House election in Texas lost last week. In that race, a state representative, Jake Ellzey, beat Susan Wright.
Last week, the proTrump group Make America Great Again Action made a lastminute purchase of nearly $350,000 in text messages, digital ads and television commercials in support of Carey. Throughout the race, Carey pointed to a singular selling point as he campaigned: the Trump seal of approval.