“If we are going to make real progress on the urgent crises facing all of our communities, we need lawmakers who are committed to legislating boldly - that's Nina,” Pressley said in a statement endorsing Turner.

Pressey said Turner, who previously served as a national co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign, has been “unapologetic in her advocacy and her vision for the communities” in her district.

“As I’ve always said, policy is my love language, and I know Nina shares my belief in what we can accomplish when we create policies intentionally and in deep partnership with the community. I’m proud to endorse her candidacy, and look forward to working with her in Congress,” she added in a statement obtained by The Hill.

The endorsement makes Pressley the latest member of the progressive group of female congresswomen — which also includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — to back Turner in the race.

The 11th Congressional District special election has a surplus of candidates. Emphasis on the word “surplus” – as in there are 13 candidates in this race, only around half of whom have an overt understanding of policy. Even fewer of those have any shot whatsoever at winning. That was abundantly clear during the cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer editorial board endorsement meeting Wednesday. Twelve of the candidates were all in one room taking questions from the Editorial Board and it showed a clear pattern of what the talent in this race is actually like.

Through numerous forums and in-depth interviews, it’s become increasingly clear that only a handful of the 13 who will be in the Aug. 3 ballot have any real policy chops. Tariq Shabazz, the 27-year-old Navy veteran and activist is definitely a wonk and conceivably has a political future. Former City Councilman Jeff Johnson also has shown a high level of understanding and detail when discussing issues like criminal justice reform and economics. Their problem, however, is they haven’t been able to crystallize that policy knowledge into a message that reverberates.

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown, whom many thought would be in a dogfight with Turner just seven months ago, has slipped tremendously. She figured to have all the establishment help she could ask for when she first announced, but the necessary gusto hasn’t seemed to coalesce.
It was evident during the editorial board interview, with many of her answers sounding repetitious. Talking points are important to a campaign, but being unable or unwilling to deviate from those talking points simply isn’t going to win over voters.

The fact of the matter is, based on interviews, public appearances, fundraising, endorsements and most other metrics, former state Sen. Nina Turner looks like she’s running away in the race. It certainly looked that way at the Editorial Board interview (Note: I am not a member of the Editorial Board, nor do I know who they will endorse).

Turner is leading the Democratic contenders who are vying to fill former Rep. Marcia Fudge’s seat in Congress, according to a new poll. Turner’s campaign highlighted results of the poll Tuesday morning, which was conducted by Tulchin Research. You can explore the poll in the document at the bottom of this story.

“Notably, the poll shows Nina Turner with a sizable lead with support from 50% of likely voters,” her campaign said in a press release. “Across every demographic, Turner is the favorite to serve as OH-11’s next Congressperson.”

Since launching her campaign in December, Turner has also received numerous endorsements – including support from various politicians, organizations and celebrities.