Tlaib to vie for seat in U.S. Congress
Former Michigan state representative Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic nomination to run for the House seat long held by John Conyers, setting her up to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. Republican David Dudenhoefer didn’t make it onto his party ’s ballot, so he needed enough voters to write in his name during Tuesday ’s Michigan District 13 primary to meet the threshold to run in the November election. It’s expected to take some time to determine if Dudenhoefer has enough votes to run against Tlaib. If not, she will begin serving a full two-year term in January.
Because Conyers stepped aside in December, there were two races during the primary to fill his seat — one to complete his term and the other for the new term beginning in January. In an unusual twist, it appears Detroit city council presi- dent Brenda Jones defeated Tlaib in the race to serve the last two months of Conyers’ term. Tlaib, 42, told supporters early Wednesday after declaring victory in the primary for the two-year term she’s “pretty ready for it,” but doesn’t know if U.S. President Donald Trump is ready for her. She also said once in Congress she will fight back “against every single oppressive, racist structure that needs to be dismantled because you deserve better than what we have today in our country.” Tlaib served in the Michigan House from 2009 until 2014. She defeated five other candidates to win the nomination to run for a full term representing the heavily Democratic district, which covers much of Detroit and some of its suburbs.
She is the eldest of 14 children born to Palestinian immigrants in Detroit. On her website, she advocates progressive positions associated with the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, such as universal health care, a higher minimum wage, environmental protection and affordable university tuition.
As a state lawmaker, she sought to defend Detroit’s poor. She took on refineries and billionaire trucking magnate and Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun, whom she accused of polluting city neighbourhoods. On the campaign trail, she criticized the influence of “big money” on politics and took aim at Trump, whom she famously heckled in 2016 while he was delivering a speech in Detroit.
The 89-year-old Conyers was first elected to the House in 1964. He stepped down in December citing health reasons, though several former female staffers had accused him of sexual harassment. “This is a huge victory for the Arab and Muslim American communities — it’s also a huge victory for the city of Detroit,” said Sally Howell, director of the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Tuesday’s primary also set up the race to become Michigan’s next governor. Former legislative leader Gretchen Whitmer won the Democratic nomination and will lead the state’s first all-female statewide ticket into her fall showdown against Republican state Attorney General Bill Schuette.