The special election for Ohio's 11th Congressional District has been called, with Democrat Shontel Brown winning the seat Tuesday night.
Brown will replace Maria Fudge, who left Congress to become President Joe Biden's Housing and Urban Development secretary. The incoming congresswoman won the race with an overwhelming majority of the vote, beating out Republican candidate Laverne Gore for the Cleveland-based district.
OHIO CD 11 CALL
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 2, 2021
Decision Desk HQ projects Shontel Brown, @ShontelMBrown, as the winner of the Ohio CD 11 Special Electionhttps://t.co/ez8QKULSbI
Race Called At: 7:58 PM (Eastern) pic.twitter.com/irUm9149ut
In the Democratic primary in August, Brown defeated Nina Turner, a top surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, after receiving endorsements from House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other powerful Democrats.
"I am eternally grateful," Brown told supporters after winning the primary. "I am completely overwhelmed by all of you that have showed up and showed out on my behalf. This was a collaborative partnership of the community. This isn't an all-or-nothing thing. This is about making progress. Sometimes, it takes compromise."
Brown was previously chairwoman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party after winning the election in that race in 2017.
The race in Ohio’s 11th District was one of the state's two special House elections. In Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, Republican Mike Carey is facing Democrat Allison Russo for the House seat of former Rep. Steve Stivers (R), who stepped down earlier this year to take a job as the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.