Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Contact
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Toggle search form
  • US Senator Bernie Sanders
    Sanders: Trump Welcomes War Criminal to White House American Arabs
  • Al-Haq
    War crimes probe urged against two Israeli snipers who intentionally killed civilian women, children Christian & Muslim
  • CAIR Executive Director and co-founder Nihad Awad
    CAIR Says Israel Turns Gaza into ‘Human Slaughterhouse’ as Killing of Civilians Continues Arab World
  • photo credit author Nehemia Gershuni-Aylho www.NGPhoto.biz and Wikipedia
    Emergency Court Motions to Stop Elbit Drone Parts Shipment via Frankfurt Airport  Activism
  • American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh murdered by Israeli soldiers May 11, 2022
    Documentary names soldier it says killed Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 American Arabs
  • Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ
    Jordan bans 12 news sites for ‘spreading media poison’ following corruption report Arab World
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech Activism
  • ADC creates emergency fund to defend people who are being punished for expressing views on the American-sanction violence by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Photo courtesy of ADC
    ADC Condemns ADL, Rep. Torres’ Defamation of Dr. Lara Sheehi Activism
  • UN Special Committee on Israeli practices in occupied territories warns of a second Nakba  Arab World
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month Activism
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders American Arabs
  • Stuffed Grape Leaves. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    A recipe on how to make Stuffed Grape Leaves with lamb, ox tail and rice American Arabs
  • Andrew Boutros, interim US Attorney Northern District of Illinois. Photo courtesy of the US Attorney's Office
    Andrew S. Boutros Takes Oath of Office as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois American Arabs
  • Israeli massacres of Palestinian civilians March 18 2025
    Palestinians demand investigation of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip Arab World
  • Illinois Muslim Action Day April 9 2025
    Illinois Muslim Action Day Policies at April 9 Statehouse News Conference American Arabs

Tlaib slips through Black divide to win Congressional seat

Posted on August 9, 2018February 1, 2020 By rayhanania No Comments on Tlaib slips through Black divide to win Congressional seat
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Tlaib slips through Black divide to win Congressional seat

Rashida Tlaib was able to win the office for U.S. Congress in Michigan’s 13th District in a large part because of support from activists like filmmaker Michael Moore and allies of Bernie Sanders, but mainly because her African American rivals split the Black vote decisively reducing their strength. We know this because there were two different races for the 13 District, one for the full two-year term with six candidates that Tlaib won, and one for the remaining term of two months, which had only had four candidates

By Ray Hanania

The sharp divisions in the Black vote in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District opened the door for the election of the first Palestinian Arab Muslim woman to the U.S. Congress.

The reason we know this is true is because the election for the 13th Congressional District was actually done in two different election contests both held at the same time on August 7, 2018 in the Democratic Primary. In one race that Tlaib lost, there were only two African American rivals. In the race that Tlaib won, there were four African American and one White rivals.

A vacancy was created in the 13th Congressional seat when longtime Congressman John Conyers Jr., was forced to resign the seat in the wake of sexual harassment accusations. Conyers represented the overwhelming African American district for an unprecedented 52 years from 1967 until 2017, when he resigned. Conyers was considered the “Dean” of the U.S. Congress.

That resignation resulted in the need to hold two concurrent elections, one to fill the vacancy through the end of Conyer’s remaining two months in office, and another to elect a successor to represent the district in the subsequent two-year term from January 2019 through the next elections in November 2020.

While there were six candidates running for the full two-year term beginning in January 2019, that Tlaib won, there were only four candidates running in the contest to complete the current term, serving only two months, that Tlaib lost.

Rashida Tlaib

Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, who is African American, won the contest to fill the remaining two months of Conyer’s current term, against three rivals, while Rashida Tlaib, who is Arab American, won the election to be Conyer’s successor, against five rivals, filling the next two years beginning with the swearing in sometime in January 2019 and remaining in office until the end of that term in January 2021. (The next primary will be in August 2020 and the next general election will be in November 2020)

The difference between the two contests was stark. In the race that Jones won, there were only four candidates. Jones defeated Tlaib by a decisive vote of 32,727 votes (37 percent) to 31,084 (35 percent of the vote). The two other candidates in that four-person contest were Bill Wild, who is white and received only 13,152 votes (15 percent), and African American Ian Conyers, who is a nephew of John Conyers but received only 9,740 votes (11 percent).

But in the more significant contest to succeed Conyers serving two full years in a new term, there were two additional candidates in the race, both African American. The vote results were far different when six candidates vyed for votes and four of them are Black.

The two additional African American candidates, Coleman Young Jr., the son of the former Detroit Mayor, and Shanelle Jackson drew more than 16,000 votes away from Jones, presumably African American voters. Young received 11,162 votes (12 percent) and Jackson received 4,848 votes (5 percent).

Abdul El-Sayed with Congressman John Conyers. Photo courtesy of El-Sayed's Facebook Page
Abdul El-Sayed, who lost the Democratic Primary election for Michigan Governor, with Congressman John Conyers. Photo courtesy of El-Sayed’s Facebook Page

Both Tlaib and Jones lost votes to the additional candidates, and Tlaib only received 27,803 (31 percent) and Jones received only 26,916 (30 percent). Jones lost to Tlaib by only 887 votes.

In the less significant contest filling Conyer’s remaining two months, Jones defeated Tlaib by 1,643 votes.

Westland Mayor Bill Wild received almost the same vote in both elections, 13,152 votes (15 percent) in the four-person two-year term race, and only slightly less of 12,589 votes (14 percent), a difference of only 563 votes.

Had Coleman and Jackson qualified for the full-term race, Tlaib would not have won based on Jones’ performance in the other contest.

Splitting an ethnic vote is a phenomena in urban communities with large Black and Hispanic voters, including in Chicago where it actually benefit the Black community in 1983 when Harold Washington, a Black former Illinois legislator, defeated an incumbent Mayor, Jane M. Byrne, and Richard M. Daley, who was the son of the city’s long-time mayor, Richard J. Daley. Both Byrne and Daley are white.

To hold the seta for more than one term, Tlaib will have to focus her energies on winning over the support of the district’s strong and active African American voter constituency. And, the Black community will have to field fewer challengers next time.

(Ray Hanania is an award-winning Palestinian American columnist and the author of several books including “Yalla! Fight Back.” His personal website is www.Hanania.com. Twitter: @RayHanania. His syndicated columns appear in the www.ArabNews.com.)

newswire info
  • About
  • Latest Posts
rayhanania
rayhanania
Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
rayhanania
Latest posts by rayhanania (see all)
  • Israelisnipers shooting and killing hospital workers in Gaza - December 11, 2023
  • CAIR Condemns Israeli Executions of Wounded, Unarmed Palestinian in West Bank   - December 11, 2023
  • Arab and Muslim American voters face a “simple choice” between Biden’s inhumanity and Trump’s edgy politics - December 9, 2023

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
American Arabs, Bloggers, Commentary, Election, mainstream, Opinion, Politics, Ray Hanania, US Arab Politics Tags:13th Congressional District, African Americans, Arab, Black vote, Brenda Jones, divided Black vote, John Conyers, Muslim, Rashida Tlaib, woman

Post navigation

Previous Post: Youth Hub Center to open in Lebanon with support from Joumana Kayrouz
Next Post: Seeing through anti-Trump anger to achieve peace

Related Posts

  • Videographer of soldier killing wounded Palestinian threatened with death Arab World
  • Christian religious presence imposes itself in Jerusalem despite pressures from all sides. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Christian Arab presence in Bethlehem in Crisis Arab World
  • Khusruwiyah Mosque in Aleppo, Syria Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Mosques warned of increased arson during Ramadan American Arabs
  • Syrian refugee camp in Turkey. Photo courtesy of Abdennour Toumi
    France, Fatherland of Human Rights Vs. Migrants’ Rights Abdennour Toumi
  • Silly Bloggers
  • The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah by Adam Levinson
    Adam Levinson releases new book The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah American Arabs

More Related Articles

The Arab Street The Arab Daily News radio show and audio podcast at www.TheArabStreet.com Arab Radio: Should Palestinians accept the Trump Peace Plan? Arab World
Voting sticker issued to voters in Cook County elections in 2016. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania Largest Illinois political group declines to endorse in Presidential race American Arabs
Illinois Governor Rauner can do the right thing American Arabs
The new King of Saudi Arabia, Salman Bin Abdel Aziz Rebranding ourselves as “Arabs” in the new Trump era American Arabs
head shot Soccer and Politics in a Day of Glory Abdennour Toumi
Ramy Youssef passes through Los Angeles Airport Security Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020 with his Golden Globe Award, notes being Muslim. Photo from Ramy's Instagram Islamophobia or fun? Golden Globe winner Youssef suggests he was profiled during airport security check American Arabs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ray Hanania's 4 times a week columns at https://RayHanania.com at Substack

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Photo courtesy of Journalist Abdennour Toumi
    France: Political Compromise vs Political Instability
    August 28, 2024
  • Zakia Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia
    Arabs eat Middle East food like they are making love
    June 27, 2024
  • Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice
    Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs
    June 8, 2024
  • Pictured: Rahm Emanuel, Afghan activist Salman Aftab who was co-chair of the Iftar dinner, and several non-Arab Muslim leaders. Also pictured is Ald. Joe Moore. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania for Arab News
    Comprehensive look at the failings of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
    January 18, 2024
  • NEWSWIRE
  • CAIR Logo. Council on American Islamic Relations
    CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech
    June 1, 2025
  • Arab American community liaison Hassan Nijem, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Basta at the Arab American Heritage Month event hosted by Pappas’s office.
    Pappas honors Arab American business and community leaders for Heritage Month
    April 29, 2025
  • 04-28-25 Pappas Arab Heritage Month
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recognizes Arab American Heritage Month by honoring business and community leaders
    April 27, 2025
  • Mike Ghouse
    Celebration of 500th Interfaith Marriage Ceremony
    February 14, 2025

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • NEWS
  • US Senator Bernie Sanders
    Sanders: Trump Welcomes War Criminal to White House
    July 9, 2025
  • Al-Haq
    War crimes probe urged against two Israeli snipers who intentionally killed civilian women, children
    July 2, 2025
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Faisal Abbas Book Anecdotes
    Book Review: Arab author shares his anecdotes living in the United Kingdom
    October 22, 2024
  • Columnist Ray Hanania at the ADC Convention in Dearborn with the author Susan Abulhawa
    Book Review: Mornings in Jenin bySusan Abulhawa
    September 14, 2024
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Television set and remote. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
    MBC GROUP unveils MBCNOW, its brand-new groundbreaking entertainment service aggregator
    February 24, 2025
  • ArabCon 2024 Gala Program features Dr. Cornel West, Macklemore, and more
    September 6, 2024
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2025 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme