Shontel Brown Wins Contentious Ohio Democratic Primary Brown’s victory over Nina Turner is a major disappointment for the activist left. MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio ― Shontel Brown, a Cuyahoga County councilwoman, defeated Nina Turner in the special primary election for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, all but ensuring that she will represent the Cleveland-area seat in Congress. Brown’s victory is a major win for leaders of the moderate Democratic establishment, who backed her, and a stinging defeat for a progressive movement that counted Turner, a former Ohio state senator-turned-Bernie Sanders lieutenant, as one of its most beloved stars. Turner conceded the race on Tuesday night before all the results came in, but she was trailing Brown by a large enough margin that she and her team believed she did not have a path to victory.