Former Michigan State Rep. Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic Party nomination to run unopposed for a seat in in November’s special elections, which was long held by former Rep. John Conyers. This puts her on course to become the first Muslim woman elected to a seat in Congress.
Conyers was first elected to the House in 1964, but stepped down in December of last year citing health reasons, however, former female staffers had accused him of sexual harassment. As a result, Conyers’ seat was among three open House seats in Michigan heading into the primary.
Tlaib garnered 3.6 percent of the vote following a grassroots campaign in which she raised over $1 million. Her first runner-up, Detroit Council President Brenda Jones, trailed her by 28.5 percent. Because no Republicans or third-party candidates ran in the District 13’s primary race, Tlaib is expected to win a seat in Congress and begin serving a full two-year term come January.
Tlaib, 42, served in the Michigan House from 2009 until 2014, and is known for being an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump. Two years ago, she was arrested for disrupting a Trump speech in downtown Detroit.
She is the daughter of two Palestinian immigrants, born in Detroit in 1976. She studied politics at Wayne State University, and followed up with law, graduating in 2004.
Tlaib previously held a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives after first winning in 2008 and becoming the second Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature nationwide, after Jamilah Nasheed of Missouri.
Tlaib’s victory comes amid a major increase in Islamophobia across the U.S. following President Donald Trump’s election in 2016. She is one of more than 90 American Muslims running for office this year.
By: Maytinee Kramer
