Warrensville Heights Councilman Walter Stewart has switched his endorsement from Cuyahoga Councilwoman Shontel Brown to former state senator Nina Turner in the OH-11 congressional race.
In a video posted to YouTube by Turner's campaign, Stewart said his change of heart was the result of negative campaign ads and the flow of dark money to Northeast Ohio, which he said was prioritizing corporate interests over the people.
"We need someone who is going to stick with the issues," Stewart said, "and that person is Nina Turner."
Stewart is from Shontel Brown's home community of Warrensville Heights — also the political birthplace of Marcia Fudge — and he encouraged other elected leaders there and elsewhere to consider changing their endorsement.
"You have to have a conviction," he said. "You have to have a concern for the people."
Stewart's endorsement came on the heels of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's appearance in Cleveland this weekend on behalf of the Turner campaign. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Congresswoman Cori Bush and Senator Bernie Sanders will also be traveling to Cleveland for get-out-the-vote events in support of Turner in the coming days.
Shontel Brown notched a number of new endorsements in recent days herself. Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who hails from East Cleveland, released a video in support of Shontel Brown, saying that Brown was the candidate who would work with Biden and deliver for the district.
The Brown campaign also announced the endorsements of Ohio State Rep. Casey Weinstein and New York Congressman Gregory Meeks last week.
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Sam Allard is the Senior Writer at Scene, in which capacity he covers politics and power and writes about movies when time permits. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and the NEOMFA at Cleveland State. Prior to joining Scene, he was encamped in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on an...
