Rashida Tlaib

Rashida Tlaib
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 6th district 12th district (2009–2012)
In office January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2014
Preceded by	Steve Tobocman
Succeeded by	Stephanie Chang
Personal details
Born	(1976-07-24) July 24, 1976 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Fayez Tlaib ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2015)​
Children	2
Education	Wayne State University (BA) Thomas M. Cooley Law School (JD)

Rashida Harbi Tlaib (born July 24, 1976) is an Arab American politician and attorney. She is a Democratic former member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Until term-limited out, she represented the 6th District (map), which is located in Southwest Detroit and stretches from an area just south of Downtown to the city's southern border, and west to the city of Dearborn. Upon her swearing in on January 1, 2009, for her first term which she served in the 12th district, Tlaib became the first Muslim American woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature, and the second Muslim woman in history to be elected to any state legislature in America.

In 2018, Tlaib won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Michigan's 13th congressional district. She is running unopposed in the general election and is expected to become the first Muslim woman in Congress and the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Early life and education

The eldest of 14 children, Rashida Tlaib was born on July 24, 1976 to working-class Palestinian immigrants in Detroit, Michigan. Her mother was born in Beit Ur El Foka, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her father was born in Beit Hanina, a neighborhood in Jerusalem. He moved first to Nicaragua, then to Detroit, where he worked on an assembly line in a Ford Motor Company plant. As the oldest, Tlaib played a role in raising her siblings while her parents worked but sometimes relied on welfare for support.

Rashida Tlaib attended elementary school at Harms, Bennett Elementary and Phoenix Academy. She graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit in 1994, and attended Wayne State University where she received a B.A. in Political Science in 1998. She went on to earn a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2004.

Earlier political career

Tlaib began her political career in 2004, when she started an internship to the State Representative Steve Tobocman. When Tobocman became Majority Floor Leader in 2007, he recruited Tlaib to be on his staff.

Michigan House of Representatives

In 2008, Tobocman encouraged Tlaib to run for his seat, which he would be vacating due to term limits. The urban district is 40% Hispanic, 25% African-American, 30% white, and 2% Arab American. Tlaib faced a crowded primary that included several Latinos, including former State Representative Belda Garza. Tlaib emerged victorious, carrying 44% of the vote in the eight-way Democratic primary. The 12th District is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Tlaib won the general election with over 90% of the vote.

In 2010, Tlaib faced a Primary election challenge against Jim Czachorowski in his first-time bid in politics. Tlaib picked up 85% of the vote, to Czachorowski's 15%. Tlaib also won the General Election, picking up 92% of the vote to second time Republican challenger Darrin Daigle.

Tlaib, in 2012, won re-election to the Michigan House in the newly redrawn 6th District against fellow incumbent Maureen Stapleton. She could not run again in 2014 because of term limits.

During her tenure as a legislator, Tlaib was one of 10 Muslims serving in state legislatures across the United States. She is the second Muslim to serve in the Michigan State House of Representatives, after James Karoub. Tlaib is the second Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature nationwide, after Jamilah Nasheed of Missouri. She and Justin Amash, a Republican who was also elected in 2008, were the first two Palestinian-American members of the Michigan legislature.

After leaving the state legislature, Tlaib went to work at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit non-profit that provides free legal representation for workers.

U.S. House of Representatives

2018 Special Election

Main article: Michigan's 13th congressional district special election, 2018

In 2018, Tlaib announced her intention to run for John Conyers' seat in Congress. As of July 16, 2018, she had raised $893,030 in funds, more than her five opponents in the August 7 Democratic primary.

Tlaib finished second in the Democratic primary to Brenda Jones, President of the Detroit City Council, receiving 31,084 votes, or 35.9%.

2018 general election

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2018 § District 13

Tlaib announced that her intention to run to succeed former Rep. John Conyers in the November 6 general elections. She defeated Brenda Jones, President of the Detroit City Council and Bill Wild, Mayor of Westland, among others. She received 27,803 votes, or 31.2%. She will be unopposed in November and will become the first Muslim woman in Congress and the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress. She will be entering Congress as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Personal life

In 1998, at the age of 22, Tlaib married Fayez Tlaib. Together, they have two sons, Adam and Yousif. They have since divorced. In 2018, a campaign spokesperson stated that Tlaib is a single-mother of two children.

On August 8, 2016, Tlaib attended a speech by then-presidential nominee Donald Trump at Cobo Center and asked him to return a Purple Heart given to him earlier in the week by Lt. Col. Louis Dorfman, stating that Trump had not earned the medal. Tlaib was then ejected from the venue.

Electoral history

• 2008 campaign for State House
  • Rashida Tlaib (D), 90%
  • Darrin Daigle (R), 10%
• 2008 campaign for State House, Democratic Primary
  • Rashida Tlaib (D), 44%
  • Carl Ramsey (D), 26%
  • Belda Garza (D), 9%
  • Daniel Solano (D), 7%
  • Lisa Randon (D), 7%
  • Denise Hearn (D), 5%
  • Rochelle Smith (D), 1%
  • Nellie Saenz (D), 1%
• 2010 campaign for State House, Democratic Primary
  • Rashida Tlaib (D), 85%
  • Jim Czachorowski (D), 15%
• 2010 campaign for State House
  • Rashida Tlaib (D), 92%
  • Darrin Daigle (R), 8%

Democratic primary results, Michigan's 13th congressional district special election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brenda Jones	32,727	37.7
	Democratic	Rashida Tlaib	31,084	35.9
	Democratic	Bill Wild	13,152	15.2
	Democratic	Ian Conyers	9,740	11.2
Total votes			86,703	100.0

Democratic primary results, United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2018 § District 13

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rashida Tlaib	27,803	31.2
	Democratic	Brenda Jones	26,916	30.2
	Democratic	Bill Wild	12,589	14.1
	Democratic	Coleman Young II	11,162	12.5
	Democratic	Ian Conyers	5,861	6.6
	Democratic	Shanelle Jackson	4,848	5.3
Total votes			89,179	100.0

External links

• Michigan House of Representatives Campaign site
• Michigan House Democrats Page
• Congress Campaign Site
• Palestinian-American Democrat: I Will 'Humanize' the Palestinian People in the U.S. Congress