The Story:
Late last year, when the President-elect, Joseph Biden, asked Marcia Fudge to serve as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, she had just been reelected by her constituents in the 11th Congressional District of Ohio, to serve a seventh term in the House. She stepped down, and a special election must now be held for that seat. This is considered a safe seat for the Democratic Party, and that means that the real action will be in the Democratic primary election, scheduled for today, August 3.
Background:
As a consequence of the 2010 census, Ohio lost two seats in the House and the district lines had to be drawn. The current configuration dates from that redrawing, and the 11th district includes Cleveland and part of Akron, and a corridor between those two cities taking in Seven Hills and Brecksville. Nearly 80% of the votes in this district went to Biden for President last year, and a little more than 80% went to Hillary Clinton four years before that.
The Thing to Know:
Coming in to election day, the two top contenders in the Democratic primary campaign for this seat correspond to the two distinct wings of the national party. They are: Shontel Brown (who has the endorsement of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton); and Nina Turner (endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders).
