Nina Turner | |
|---|---|
 Turner in 2020 | |
| Member of theOhio Senate from the25th district | |
| In office September 15, 2008 – December 31, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Lance Mason |
| Succeeded by | Kenny Yuko |
| Member of theCleveland City Council from Ward 1 | |
| In office January 1, 2006 – September 16, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Jones |
| Succeeded by | Terrell Pruitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nina Hudson (1967-12-07)December 7, 1967 (age 57) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jeffery Turner |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Cuyahoga Community College (AA) Cleveland State University (BA,MA) |
| Website | ninaturner |
Nina Turner (néeHudson; born December 7, 1967) is an American politician and television personality. A member of theDemocratic Party, she was aCleveland City Council member from 2006 to 2008 and a member of theOhio Senate from 2008 until 2014. Turner was the Democratic nominee forOhio Secretary of State in2014, but lost in the general election against incumbentJon Husted, receiving 35.5 percent of the vote. A self-describeddemocratic socialist,[1] her politics have been variously described asprogressive,[2]left-wing,[3] orfar-left.[4]
Turner supportedBernie Sanders in his2016 presidential campaign, and became president of the Sanders-affiliated groupOur Revolution in 2017. She served as a national co-chair of Sanders's2020 presidential campaign. Turner ran in the Democratic primary for2021 special election for Ohio's 11th congressional district, and conceded the race after losing toShontel Brown by a margin of 5.66% of the vote.[5][6] Turner unsuccessfully challenged Brown for the seat again in2022, garnering 33.5% of the vote to Brown's 66.5% in the Democratic primary.
Turner is a native ofCleveland,Ohio. She was born Nina Hudson, to parents, Faye and Taalib, the first of seven children.[7][8] Her father and mother separated by the time Turner was five years old. Her mother worked as a preacher and as a nurse's aide in a senior home, struggled with high blood pressure all her life and died in 1992 at the age of 42.[7][8]
Turner graduated from Cleveland'sJohn F. Kennedy High School in 1986. She earned aBachelor of Arts degree in history and aMaster of Arts degree fromCleveland State University.[9]She has anAssociate in Arts degree fromCuyahoga Community College where she is now a tenured assistant professor of history.[10]
She began her professional career as anaide in 2001 to then-state SenatorRhine McLin.[11] Turner worked forCleveland MayorMichael R. White. She later lobbied for theCleveland Metropolitan School District at the state and federal levels.[12]
Turner made a run forCleveland City Council in 2001, but was defeated by theincumbent, Joe Jones. In November 2004, Jones resigned his City Council seat. His wife, Tonya Jones, was the top vote-getter in a September nine-way, non-partisan primary race to select a candidate to fill Jones' seat. In the November 2005 election, Turner defeated Tonya Jones to become the Council Member for Ward One, the firstAfrican American woman in the seat.[11][13]
Turner served on Cleveland City Council from 2006 to 2008.[14]
In September 2008, SenatorLance Mason resigned his 25th District seat in theOhio Senate to accept an appointment to theCuyahoga CountyCourt of Common Pleas. Turner was unanimously selected by the Ohio Senate Democraticcaucus to serve the remainder of Mason's four-year Senate term. She resigned her City Council seat to accept the appointment on September 15, 2008. In the 128th General Assembly, Turner was the Ranking Minority member on the Senate Highways & Transportation and Judiciary Criminal Justice Committees.
Turner won a full term in 2010, running unopposed in the general election. She was elected asMinority Whip halfway through the 129th General Assembly. She was Minority Whip in the following General Assembly. By then her district consisted of the eastern side of Cuyahoga County as well as half ofLake County (including the Village ofFairport Harbor, the Village ofGrand River, the City ofPainesville and parts ofPainesville Township; but excluding the City ofKirtland, the Village ofKirtland Hills, the Village ofWaite Hill, the City ofWilloughby Hills and most of the City ofMentor).
Turner considered running against incumbentMarcia Fudge in the 2012 Democratic primary forOhio's 11th congressional district but declined, opting to stay in the State Senate.[15]
As a political statement against legislation attempting to restrict women's access tocontraception andabortion,[16] in March 2012, Turner introduced a bill to regulate men's reproductive health. Before getting a prescription forerectile dysfunction drugs, a man would have to get anotarizedaffidavit signed by a recent sexual partner affirming hisimpotency, consult with asex therapist and receive acardiac stress test. She said the proposedstatute would be parallel to recent legislation written by male legislators restricting women's reproductive health and that she was equally concerned about men's reproductive health.[17] The proposed legislation was not meant to be passed, but as a way of bringing attention to similar bills targeted towards women.[16]
In January 2014, Turner led unsuccessful efforts to change Ohio's rape custody law. It permitsvisitation and custody by men who father children via rape or sexual assault against a woman or girl. Turner wanted to protectrape victims/survivors and children conceived as a result ofrape by preventingparental custody rights from being provided to rapists who fathered their children. She said it may be difficult for people to contemplate that a person would desire parental rights for a child conceived due to rape, though it occurs.[18] She and fellow DemocratCharleta Tavares introduced SB-171. It would allow rape victims to file court claims terminating their attacker's parental rights and permit a mother to place her child up for adoption without being required to seek her attacker's approval. The bill was stalled in the senate.[19]
Turner has been a member of the faculty at her alma materCuyahoga Community College since 1998.[20] She was an assistant professor of history there, where she taught African-American history, African-American women's history, American history, andwomen's studies.[10]
In the2016 presidential election, Turner initially supportedHillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination but switched her support toBernie Sanders.[21][22] After Clinton won the nomination, Turner was invited byJill Stein to become theGreen Party's nominee forVice President, but she declined saying, "I believe that the Democratic Party is worth fighting for."[23] Turner went on to decline to endorse Hillary Clinton in the2016 United States Presidential Election againstDonald Trump, saying that she would endorse the party's platform in the election not an individual.[24]
In December 2016, Turner served as a member of the DNC Unity Reform Commission in Washington, D.C. to address concerns that arose regarding the presidential nominating process, particularly regarding the roles ofcaucuses,superdelegates, andcorporate donations.[25]
In 2016, Turner became the president and public face ofOur Revolution, aprogressivepolitical action organization that grew out ofBernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign.[citation needed]
According to a May 2018 review byPolitico, Our Revolution was "flailing" and "in disarray" a year into her leadership.[26] By May 2018, the organization's monthly fundraising totals were one-third of what they had been May 2017. According toPolitico, the group operated primarily as a vehicle for Sanders and had "shown no ability to tip a major Democratic election in its favor—despite possessing Sanders's email list, the envy of the Democratic Party—and can claim no major wins in 2018 as its own". There was infighting within the group as figures in the organization speculated whether Turner was using the organization for a presidential run of her own. They questioned whether she was settling scores from 2016 with theDemocratic National Committee and criticized her hiring of associates to senior positions within the organization. Our Revolution also endorsedDennis Kucinich in the race for the Democratic nomination for the 2018 Ohio governorship; questions were raised about Turner's close relation to Kucinich's running mate.[26]
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On February 21, 2019, Turner was named a national co-chair of the Bernie Sanders2020 presidential campaign.[27] She appeared onHardball with Chris Matthews,[28]Meet the Press,[29]Politics Nation,State of the Union,[30] and other programs in support of Sanders.[31]
A few weeks before the2020 Democratic National Convention, Turner expressed her disdain for being forced to choose between presumptive Democratic nomineeJoe Biden and incumbent Donald Trump. She told Peter Nicholas of The Atlantic, "it's like saying to somebody, 'You have a bowl of shit in front of you, and all you've got to do is eat half of it instead of the whole thing.' It's still shit."[32] Turner declined to endorse Joe Biden in the2020 United States Presidential election after Biden officially became the Democratic nominee.[33]
In September 2020, in partnership with Mercury Public Affairs, Turner launched the progressive public affairs firm Amare Public Affairs.[34]
On July 1, 2013, Turner declared her candidacy forOhio Secretary of State, challenging RepublicanJon Husted.[35] On September 18, 2014,Bill Clinton officially supported Turner's candidacy.[36] Turner was defeated 60%–35% by Husted.[37]
Turner ran in a special election to replaceMarcia Fudge who resigned her seat. She lost toCuyahoga County Council womanShontel Brown in the Democratic primary.[38]
In September 2021, Turner filed paperwork with the FEC to run for Congress in the same district in 2022. Although she did not officially declare her intention to run for the seat at that time, her filing "leaves the door open. Turner has conceded in the past that she will make another run for Congress," according toThe Plain Dealer.[39]
On January 26, 2022, Turner announced her intention to run against Brown for a second time.[40] Turner was not re-endorsed by prominent members of theCongressional Progressive Caucus who had endorsed her the previous year.
On May 3, 2022, Brown defeated Turner with 66% of votes to Turner's 34%.[41][42]
Turner's politics have been described in the media asprogressive,[2][43][44]left-wing,[3][45] orfar-left.[4][46] She identifies as ademocratic socialist.[1]
During Turner's runs for Congress, she supportedMedicare for All, aGreen New Deal, a$15 minimum wage,legalizing cannabis,canceling student debt, and tuition-free tertiary education.[47]
In support of striking workers, Turner launched the organizationWe Are Somebody in October 2023.[48][49]
She expressed harsh criticism towards Israel's actions in theGaza war, stating: "Stop calling it a war, what is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is agenocide and ethnic cleansing campaign."[50]
Turner has worked forCNN as a contributor. In June 2017, she began a regular segment onThe Real News Network calledThe Nina Turner Show.[51] In 2018, Turner portrayed a fictitious version of herself in the pilot episode of the television seriesBlack Lightning, praisingCress Williams' characterJefferson Pierce.[52]
On September 14, 2021, Turner was hired byThe Young Turks as a contributor and co-anchor.[53]
On May 29, 2025,Mark Halperin's2WAY Network launched a weekly roundtable-style news program calledThe Group Chat.[54] The show is moderated byBatya Ungar-Sargon and includes Turner, Dan Turrentine, Emma Jo-Morris, andRobby Soave as co-hosts.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Nina Turner | 73,694 | 100.00% | Unopposed |
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | Libertarian | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Nina Turner | 1,074,475 | 35.5% | Jon Husted | 1,811,020 | 59.8% | Kevin Knedler | 141,292 | 4.7% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shontel Brown | 38,505 | 50.11 | |
| Democratic | Nina Turner | 34,239 | 44.56 | |
| Democratic | Jeff Johnson | 1,388 | 1.81 | |
| Democratic | John E. Barnes Jr. | 801 | 1.04 | |
| Democratic | Shirley Smith | 599 | 0.78 | |
| Democratic | Seth J. Corey | 493 | 0.64 | |
| Democratic | Pamela M. Pinkey | 184 | 0.24 | |
| Democratic | Will Knight | 182 | 0.24 | |
| Democratic | Tariq Shabazz | 134 | 0.17 | |
| Democratic | Martin Alexander | 105 | 0.14 | |
| Democratic | James Jerome Bell | 101 | 0.13 | |
| Democratic | Lateek Shabazz | 61 | 0.08 | |
| Democratic | Isaac Powell | 52 | 0.07 | |
| Total votes | 76,844 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shontel Brown (incumbent) | 40,517 | 66.5 | |
| Democratic | Nina Turner | 20,395 | 33.5 | |
| Total votes | 60,912 | 100.0 | ||
Turner is married to Jeffery Turner Sr. They have a son who is alieutenant in theOhio National Guard.[11] They reside inCleveland while Turner works out ofWashington, D.C.[56]
Turner is aChristian and has publicly stated how her faith forms a basis for her political convictions.[57]
A far-left former state legislator, Ms. Turner declined to endorse Hillary Clinton over Donald J. Trump in 2016.
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Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forOhio Secretary of State 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by Joe Jones | Member of theCleveland City Council from Ward 1 2006–2008 | Succeeded by Terrell Pruitt |
| Ohio Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theOhio Senate from the25th district 2008–2014 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |