President Joe Biden s selection of Rep. Marcia Fudge to serve as housing secretary has sparked a scramble among divergent factions of the Democratic Party to fill her solid blue seat in Ohios 11th Congressional District.

The activist left has united behind former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner , while the Cleveland-area Democratic establishment is coalescing behind Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown , who also chairs the county Democratic Party.

Former state Sens. Shirley Smith and Jeff Johnson , and former state Rep. John Barnes Jr. all of whom resemble Brown ideologically are also contesting the seat.

The Democratic special election primary, which is all but certain to determine the overall winner, is expected to take place in May (the state is waiting for Fudge to be confirmed and to formally vacate the seat before officially announcing the election date).

The races outcome will either solidify the lefts status as a growing force on Capitol Hill or show that the same traditional Democrats who made Biden the partys standard-bearer can still hold the line against one of the progressive movements biggest stars.

This is really a proxy for whats happening with the Democratic Party nationally, said David Cohen, an Ohio politics expert at the University of Akron.