By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

Ohio Democrat Marcia L. Fudge, a suburban Cleveland mayor, earned a virtually certain trip to Congress Thursday night, as party officials in the state’s 11th District tapped her for the Nov. 4 general election ballot slot vacated by the Aug. 20 death of five-term Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones .

Fudge, a lawyer, serves as mayor of Warrensville Heights, located in a congressional district that includes the east side of Cleveland and some suburbs elsewhere in Cuyahoga County. She also is a former chief of staff to Tubbs Jones — and her record and ties to the well-respected incumbent, who died a day after she suffered an aneurysm while driving, helped her win an easy first-ballot victory over four opponents in a vote by a committee of nearly 300 Democratic officials in the 11th District.

Fudge was picked over former state Sen. C. J. Prentiss, who advises Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland on education issues; Rev. Marvin McMickle and former state Sen. Jeffrey Johnson, both of whom lost to Tubbs Jones in a 1998 Democratic primary when the seat last was open; and Bill Patmon, a former Cleveland councilman. Michael Ryan, a judge in Cleveland, also originally was in the running, but he withdrew before the voting began.

The nomination of Fudge guarantees, for all practical purposes, that the long-standing continuity of both African-American and Democratic representation will endure for the district’s overwhelmingly Democratic black majority. Tubbs Jones was one of the most visible black House members during her tenure of nearly 10 years, as she represented a district that elected her by overwhelming margins and backed Democratic challenger John Kerry over President Bush by more than a 4-to-1 ratio in their 2004 election. Fudge on Nov. 4 will face Thomas Pekarek, the little-known Republican nominee.

Fudge, a close friend of Tubbs Jones’, emerged as the front-running candidate to fill the vacancy because she was backed by many local mayors and was also endorsed by a non-binding screening committee headed by retired Democratic former Rep. Louis B. Stokes (1969-99) — Tubbs Jones’ predecessor in the House — and incumbent Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

While her election to a full term in the 111th Congress that convenes in January is all but certain, Fudge could take her seat in Congress even earlier — and get a leg up in seniority over members of the January 2009 freshman class — if she also wins a special election to fill the last few weeks of Tubbs Jones’ unexpired term in the current 110th Congress. Strickland set Oct. 14 as the date for the special primary election and Nov. 18 for the general election that almost certainly will be won by the Democratic primary winner.

Though Fudge was one of 13 Democrats who met a Sept. 5 filing deadline to qualify for the special primary election, her nomination for the regularly scheduled Nov. 4 full-term election could give her a leg up in the short-term Nov. 18 race. The nomination Fudge won Thursday will empower her to begin collecting campaign contributions from individuals and political action committees who want to have a good relationship with her in the next Congress.

Fudge said in a candidate questionnaire that serving as mayor had “given me a working knowledge of domestic issues.” She also acknowledged that she has “much to learn with regard to foreign policy but would seek the advice and consult of experts and residents as issues arise.”

She expressed interest in serving on the Appropriations Committee, an influential panel on which vacant seats are almost always granted to more senior House members, to “acquire resources for local projects.” She also expressed interest in the Judiciary Committee, where she said she “could be a voice for the many people who have been adversely affected by legislation.” Her issue positions include support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage.