DEARBORN – Arab American state congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib triumphed over eight other Democrats in Tuesday’s primary election, garnering about 44 percent of the vote in her bid to represent Southwest Detroit residents in the 12th District.

Dozens of young Arab Americans also won seats as precinct delegates for the Democratic Party, the result of a movement started months ago by local college students trying to boost Arab American presence at party conventions.

U.S. House candidate Mary Waters, Wayne County Treasurer candidate Phil Cavanagh and state House candidate Abdul Algazali, all of whom were endorsed by the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC), fell short of gaining spots on the November ballot, unable to overcome the might of incumbent candidates. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz and 5th District State Rep. Bert Johnson held off all challengers.

State House candidate Gary Pollard, who also received AAPAC endorsement, fell just short of making the November ballot in his bid to represent the 11th District, which encompasses parts of Detroit and East Dearborn.

Other candidates with widespread Arab American support who did come out victorious in heated primaries include Wayne County Commission candidate Diane Webb, who will face Republican Mark Slater in the general election, and 3rd Circuit Court judicial candidates Daniel Hathaway and Lynne Pierce.

A proposal supporting the Detroit Zoo also passed.

Tlaib, having gotten past her most formidable competition in the heavily Democratic district, will be the only Arab American in the Michigan House of Representatives during the next term if she defeats Republican candidate Darrin Daigle in November.

She previously served as a policy analyst for Michigan House Floor Leader, Steve Tobocman, the 12th District’s current Representative, who backed Tlaib.

Tlaib has for years been a grassroots advocate for local Arab, Hispanic and African Americans facing social service, immigrant and civil rights issues.

Pollard lost to Democrat David Nathan in the 11th district by only 65 votes, according to unofficial results from the Wayne County Clerk’s office.

Volunteers who campaigned for Pollard and the AAPAC slate in front of East Dearborn’s McDonald Elementary School said they were disappointed in voter turnout.

Local community organizer Tarek Baydoun said he arranged with local students an automated telephone call that went to about 5400 homes of registered Arab American Dearborn voters in the 11th district alone, reminding them to vote.

He also knocked on doors in the area campaigning for Pollard and others, but the polls at McDonald and other precincts with high Arab American concentrations were noticeably slow.

“What are we supposed to do, drag you out of the house?” said Baydoun, frustrated with the lack of activity.

“The presidential election is just around the corner so everyone is focused on that,” said Suhaib Al-Hanooti, 23, another student activist who worked outside the school passing out AAPAC literature and helping other passersby to register to vote in November. “But local elections are very, very important. To get our voices heard on the national level, we need to get our voices heard in local elections,” he said.

“Everything in this country is determined through voting,” said voter Mohamed Aljahmi. “Are they waiting for November or what? Everyone should vote. It’s important for the community. It’s important for the schools. It’s important for the state.”

“Whenever you can make your voice count, you should,” said Houda Fawaz, 25, a Precinct 16 voter at Woodworth Middle School. “I know if our community came out to vote, they would have one strong collective voice. It would be a lot easier to get things done. Politicians would pay a lot more attention to us.”

Baydoun, along with Rashid Baydoun, 23, a University of Michigan-Dearborn student and other young activists, began a campaign several months ago to get Arab Americans and young people in general to run for precinct delegate in the Democratic Party in areas throughout Metro Detroit.

They got more than sixty people in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, Farmington Hills, Northville, Melvindale, Redford and other cities to file the paperwork to get their names on the ballot.

In Dearborn and Dearborn Heights alone, 36 of them won seats, giving them the right to vote on candidates for various offices and other proposals and issues in district Democratic conventions and the state convention in September.

Rashid Baydoun said the Arab Student Union at UM-D is renting a bus to take the delegates and others on September 6 to Lansing, where the state convention will include an Arab and Chaldean Caucus.

Baydoun said it’s an opportunity to directly hear from, and sometimes grill, high ranking elected officials, while becoming more visible in local government on the grassroots level.

“That’s where you basically tell your representatives what you want,” he said.

Baydoun said just getting so many Arabic names on ballots all over the place was an accomplishment in itself, and helped get family members of those who ran to go out and vote.

“We made history. We did really well,” he said. “If their son or daughter’s name is on the ballot, parents are more likely to vote.”

“You can really have an impact,” said Tarek Baydoun. “We’re going to be there. We’re going to get what we deserve. If we can get more and more people to do it over time, it’ll have a good positive impact. When people really need our votes to win, they’re not going to turn on us. They have to accept us.”