DEARBORN — All three Arab American candidates who were endorsed by The Arab American News (TAAN) and Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) for Tuesday’s Aug. 5 primary elections were unsuccessful in their bids. 

Meanwhile, a few non-Arab candidates who received endorsements from TAAN and AAPAC won their respective races, including Debbie Dingell, democratic candidate for the 12th congressional district; Warren Evans, democratic candidate for Wayne County Executive; Stephanie Chang, democratic candidate for Michigan’s 6th House District and longtime Congressman John Conyers. If he wins in November, Conyers— whose career as a U.S. representative has spanned nearly 50 years— will serve his 26th term.

Democratic State Representative Rashida Tlaib, who is serving her third term in the state legislature, lost against incumbent Virgil Smith by 1,854 votes in the race for state senate in the 4th district. 

Tlaib’s defeat is seen as a huge loss for many Arab and Muslim Americans, as well as the other communities in southeast Michigan she fought relentlessly to serve. 

Tlaib, a Palestinian American, is the first Muslim American to serve in the state legislature.  As a state legislator, she helped fight and raise awareness about several important causes involving ethnic and underserved communities in the region.  

Since democrat Rashid Baydoun lost his bid for state representative in the 11th House District, the state house now has no representation from the Arab American community. Baydoun came in second place, losing by 781 votes to Julie Plawecki.

Dearborn Board of Education President and community activist Hussein Berry lost to incumbent Harvey Santana in the race for the 9th House District. The two squared off in the same race in 2012. 

At the county level, Tuesday’s election saw the end of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s political career. Ficano, who was first elected county executive in 2002, earned only 6 percent of the vote in a contest where he faced 10 primary challengers (there were also three republican candidates on the ballot).

Former Wayne County Sheriff and Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans earned 44 percent of the vote, with Westland Mayor Bill Wild coming in second place with 26 percent. 

Over the years, both Ficano and Evans have maintained close relationships with the Arab community. 

Ficano, who was Wayne County sheriff from 1983 until he became county executive, lost in large part because of the controversy that has surrounded his administration since 2011. 

TAAN also endorsed former congressman Hansen Clarke, who came in third in the race for Michigan’s 14th Congressional District. Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence earned 36 percent of the votes, while State Sen. Rudy Hobbs earned 32 percent.

Clarke and Lawrence had both sought the same seat in 2012, but lost the primary to Gary Peters who went on to win the general election. Peters is vacating the seat to seek the  U.S. Senate seat held by retiring senator Carl Levin. He’ll face republican Terri Lynn Land in November.

TAAN and AAPAC also endorsed Thomas Stallworth in the 5th State Senate district. Stallworth lost to 27-year-old David Knezek, a first term representative in the 11th House District.

To the right are election results for the races AAPAC and TAAN endorsed candidates in:

The first Arab American mayor of Wayne, Abdul Haidous, a Lebanese American immigrant from Lebanon was elected to the Wayne County Commission and will serve residents in the 11th district. He managed to beat two of his opponents by earning 44 percent of the vote. 

Arab American Justin Amash defeated his opponent, Brian Ellis, in the race for the third Congressional District. He accused his opponent of what he called a “smear campaign.” Speaking during his victory speech in Grand Rapids he said, “You owe my family and this community an apology for your disgusting, despicable smear campaign.” 

Amish said Ellis put together a TV ad calling him Al Qaeda’s best friend in Congress. “I am an Arab American, and he has the audacity to say I’m al Qaeda’s best friend in Congress? That’s pretty disgusting.”