Sunrise Movement endorses Nina Turner in special election for Ohio House seat

The progressive environmental group Sunrise Movement has endorsed former Democratic Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner in the primary to fill the House seat vacated by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.

“For years, Nina Turner has been a champion for people everywhere on a myriad of issues impacting our communities – all while inspiring so many to join the fight for what they believe in. Now, it’s time for us to have her back,” Shanté Wolfe, the electoral politics director for Sunrise Movement, said in a statement Monday.

“Ohio’s 11th deserves a Congresswoman who will be a fierce advocate for the Green New Deal and progressive policies amidst the twin economic and climate crises we’re facing,” Wolfe added. “Nina is that leader – she understands what our communities are going through and is not afraid to stand up and work against the tide when it comes to helping her people.”

Fudge represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District before leaving Congress to run President Biden’s Department of Housing and Urban Development earlier this year.

Turner on Monday said she was proud to receive the endorsement.

“When it comes to Mother Earth, it’s not enough to be ambitious, we must be transformative,” she tweeted.

The future of our planet depends on leaders with the courage to ask for more. That’s why I’m proud to receive the endorsement of the @sunrisemvmt

When it comes to Mother Earth, it’s not enough to be ambitious, we must be transformative. pic.twitter.com/P0qEI23kpA

— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) May 17, 2021

Turner is a longtime ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and co-chaired his 2020 campaign. She has highlighted her progressive bona fides ahead of the Aug. 3 primary for the seat, for which more than half a dozen Democratic candidates are vying.

Turner has emphasized issues of environmental justice, calling for a “Green New Deal” and new protections for national parks and natural lands on her campaign site. She is endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), one of the most vocal proponents of a Green New Deal in Congress.

“Nina is a bold, unapologetic progressive who has spent her entire career advocating for the working people of Northeast Ohio, and a powerful voice for progressive values and policies that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of working people across this country — like Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and a Green New Deal,” Ocasio-Cortez said in March.

Other progressive members of Congress to endorse Turner’s candidacy include Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has set the special election for Nov. 2.