Top Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission amid mounting speculation she will launch a bid for outgoing Rep. Marcia Fudge’s House seat.
The paperwork, filed Wednesday, is the first in a series of forms Turner will need to complete in order to declare her candidacy.
Representatives for Turner did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the filing, which listed “Nina Turner for US” as the name of her principal campaign committee.
Her filings were made the same day that Fudge (D-Ohio) was tapped publicly to lead President-elect Joe Biden’s Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Turner, a known Sanders ally, has been getting courted to run for the seat if an opening did occur, she admitted this week to Politico.
“Well, there’s been an outcry for me to at least consider it. You know, I’m a public servant through and through, but I’m just going to leave it there for now,” the 53-year-old progressive said.
When asked by the outlet if she was, in fact, running this election cycle, Turner demurred.
“Currently, there is no vacancy in the district and if it becomes vacant, things will unfold as they should.”
When Fudge was officially tapped as Biden’s HUD secretary, Turner tweeted her support for the outgoing congresswoman.
“Congratulations @RepMarciaFudge on being nominated to HUD Secretary. Our country faces a historic crisis in housing — from looming evictions to the lack of affordability. The challenges ahead require someone who understands the enormity of the problems facing millions of Americans,” she wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
Turner is not new to being a politician. She previously served as an Ohio state senator and a Cleveland city councilwoman.
Sanders-allied politicians are expressing excitement at the thought of Turner throwing her hat in the ring.
“I have encouraged her to run if the seat is open as that is her congressional district and she would have the immediate support of the national Bernie movement,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a fellow former Sanders campaign co-chair, told Politico. “She’d be a fantastic ally for the movement in Congress.”
Rep.-elect Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the first Black Lives Matter activist to be elected to Congress, cheered the reports of Turner running.
Bush took to Twitter earlier this week to write that if Fudge were tapped for a Biden cabinet post, Turner “must run! It would be a dream to work alongside her in Congress.”
