Shontel Brown

Democratic U.S. Representative for Ohio's 11th District — the Cleveland seat — since a 2021 special election.

Key facts

• Former Cuyahoga County Council member and county Democratic Party chair; re-elected 2024 with about 78% in the most Democratic district in Ohio (≈ D+28).
• A member of the Congressional Black Caucus; her 2021 primary win over a progressive challenger was a nationally watched intra-party contest.
• 2026: faces Republican Mike Kirchner. Safe Democratic.

Connections

• Her seat is Cleveland's Democratic vote sink, the counterpart to Beatty's OH-3 in Columbus — packing that keeps OH-7 Republican. See Gerrymandering and Cleveland 2026 Elections.

Sources

• Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections, 2026 — Ballotpedia (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Ohio's 7th congressional district — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Ohio's 11th congressional district — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• OH-07 2026 race — Cook Political Report (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• November 2026 voter guides for Cleveland / Cuyahoga County — Signal Cleveland (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Ohio House of Representatives District 17 — Ballotpedia (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb reelected for a second term (Nov 2025) — Ideastream (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• GCRTA levy to appear on the ballot — NEOtrans (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Cuyahoga County Council District 11 primary results — Signal Cleveland (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Ohio Redistricting Commission passes congressional map (2025 remap) — Ohio Capital Journal (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• November 3, 2026 General Election Candidate List (Cuyahoga County, rev. June 16, 2026) — Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (retrieved 2026-07-05)
• Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (retrieved 2026-07-05)