Michigan Election: Tlaib Wins, First Muslim Woman In Congress

DETROIT, MI – Rashida Tlaib will become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress after Democrats gave her the nod over a slate of five other candidates to take the U.S. House seat vacated last fall by John Conyers. The Associated Press called the race for Tlaib just before 2 a.m. ET.

Unofficial election night results show Tlaib, a former state representative, pulling ahead of a slate of rival Democrats that included Conyers' great nephew, state Sen. Ian Conyers, Detroit City Councilwoman Brenda Jones, and Coleman Young II, the son of the former Detroit mayor, and Westland Mayor Bill Wild. With 93 percent of the precincts reporting, Tlaib had 27,948 votes, or 34 percent.

Jones, who had the endorsement of Mayor Michael Duggan, was Tlaib's closest rival and had 23,705 votes, or 26 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Wild had 12,076 votes and Young had 9,887 votes. Rounding out the voting was Ian Conyers with 5,154 votes and Shanelle Jackson, a former state lawmaker and deputy director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, who received 4,379 votes.

Tlaib campaigned on securing a $15 minimum wage, protecting Social Security from GOP-led efforts to cut the program, and advocating for equal pay for women.

The heavily Democratic district includes parts of Detroit and some western Wayne County communities.

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