Turner and Brown are among 13 Democrats running in District 11, which includes part of Cleveland and runs south to Akron. The two women emerged months ago as pioneers, prompting national observers to choose the race as a struggle between the progressive and established arms of the party.
The winner of the primaries will move on to the special election on November 2, but is expected to win easily in the Democratic district.
The proxy war assessment of the race to replace former Rep. Marcia Fudge has drawn significant backing for both candidates. Representative Jim Clyburn and Senator Bernie Sanders visited the district over the weekend to campaign for Brown and Turner, respectively, just a week after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was stumped by Turner in Cleveland.
The race is also generating large sums of money.
Turner raised $ 2.3 million in the latest spending period, bringing his total contributions to a staggering $ 4.5 million since the race began. Throughout the election cycle, it received about $ 107,000 from political action committees such as the Ohio-based Cincinnatus PAC and the Anti-Corruption League.
In an email response to written questions, Turner touted an average campaign donation of $ 27 and said he pledged not to accept dark money or contributions from fossil fuel companies.
"I am proud to have built a campaign that is encouraging ordinary people and supported by a broad coalition of local and national leaders," she said.
Brown has lagged behind Turner, but still raised more than $ 2.1 million in total, $ 1.4 million of which was made between April and mid-July. However, Brown was criticized by some of her donors. He received more than $ 536,000 from the Pro-Israel America PAC and $ 5,800 from Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and longtime friend of Donald Trump.
Former Cuyahoga County Republican Co-Chairperson Roger Synenberg donated $ 1,000 to Brown's campaign, although Synenberg has identified himself as a former Republican and spoke out against Trump .
"Unlike Nina Turner, who has attacked and insulted Democrats like President Biden at all times, I am proud of our coalition of Democrats, independents and yes, even some Republicans, who want to elect someone to Congress who will work with Joe Biden to meet an economic recovery in Northeast Ohio and stop gun violence, "Brown said in an email.
Fundraising for both campaigns does not include channeling money on the run from external stakeholders. The highest bettor has been Israel's Democratic Majority PAC, which put about $ 2 million towards advertisements supporting Brown and opposing Turner. But they are not alone: The PAC Rebellion Y Democratic Action PAC They are among several groups spending thousands of dollars to back Turner.
"Both parties are behaving like this is really competitive," said Kyle Kondik, editor-in-chief of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "I don't know if that was what people thought two or three months ago."
'Not inspiring'
Meanwhile, local officials say voters are fed up with the hostility.
"It just seems like the Democratic Party is not as good working together as the Republican Party," said Cleveland City Councilman Basheer Jones. "This is a sign of it. It's getting really ugly and people don't like it."
Jones is running for mayor of Cleveland and recently faced criticism for the comments she made in 2017 about women leaders that she said were taken out of context. He supports Brown for his work on the ground, he said, but believes outside groups are using the candidates and toppling both in the process.
"It's not inspiring," Jones said. "It doesn't feel good."
Turner, for his part, criticized the dark money groups for entering with "deceptive slander" and said the district deserves better than the current state of the contest. He said he has worked to focus on the problems, but also refused to ignore the attacks against him.
"That does not mean that I will just sit back and correct the abominable lies, offer a contrary narrative (which we did) and make a sharp comparison between our records," she said.
Brown said the ads directed at her are false and claimed her campaign has been factual.
"It is important that the voters understand what is at stake in this election," he said.
Howse, who supported Turner, said an "anyone but Turner" mentality in Washington, DC infected the race because they see her as someone who could upset the status quo. To move forward after Tuesday, he said, Democrats must create space for healing and focus on working together, regardless of who wins the primaries.
"I have yet to be in a space where all the elected Democrats here in our congressional district have been invited to come together collectively and just speak," Howse said.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, serving the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal, and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio.
