![Democratic congressional candidate Shontel Brown waves from the head of Cleveland's Labor Day parade in September. [Nick Castele / Ideastream Public Media]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ae26768/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F11%2F02%2FShontelBrown.jpg)
Updated: 9:25 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021
Shontel Brown was elected Ohio’s newest member of Congress on Tuesday, claiming a victory that had been all but assured in this heavily Democratic district since she defeated Nina Turner in an August special primary.
Laverne Gore was the Republican candidate.
Brown will serve out the remainder of the term of Marcia Fudge, who stepped down to become President Joe Biden’s secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"I am committed to going to Washington as a unifier, and will work with President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress to lead a swift health and economic recovery from the pandemic for Ohioans," Brown said in a written statement Tuesday night.
After she is sworn in as a member of Congress for Ohio’s 11th District, Brown will almost immediately have to begin running for reelection in next spring’s Democratic primary.
Turner has not yet said whether she will run again for the seat.
The special primary showdown between the progressive Turner and more moderate Brown was viewed nationally as a possible bellwether for the direction of Democratic politics.
Brown’s victory in the Nov. 2 election puts the capstone on her August success.
