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McCormack elected chief justice of Michigan Supreme Court
January 14th, 20190 LANSING - In an unanimous vote by her colleagues, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack was elected chief justice on Wednesday, making this the first time in the state's history that the offices of governor, attorney general, secretary of state and chief justice are all held by women. McCormack succeeds Steve Markman, the...Latino-Arab American Ammar Campa-Najjar narrowly lost in midterms, plans to run in 2020
January 7th, 20190 SAN DIEGO - In November, Ammar Campa-Najjar hoped to become the first Latino Arab-American member of Congress. Though he was facing off against Rep. Duncan Hunter – who with an ongoing finance scandal is embroiled in controversy – he faced an uphill battle. The 50th Congressional District in California – which encompasses parts of...Among my biggest disappointments in politics
December 14th, 20180 The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off-the-cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life: The ongoing effort by politicians to suppress...Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson announces transition team
November 24th, 20180 LANSING— Secretary of State-elect Jocelyn Benson has announced her transition committee, which will guide her preparation to assume the role of Michigan’s chief motor vehicle administrator and chief election officer, on January 1. “I am honored that two leaders and mentors I respect and admire, Senator Levin and Commissioner...The real midterm elections wave wasn’t blue, it was Muslim
November 22nd, 20180 The Muslims are no longer coming—they are here! Well, in reality Muslims have been in America and contributing to it even before the nation was formed, since approximately 15 percent of the slaves from Africa were Muslim. But now Muslim Americans are “here” in a whole new way as a record number won their elections on Nov. 6....Mississippi Senate race may be defining moment for Black voters
November 17th, 20180 JACKSON, MS — U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) remark to a colleague that “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row” puts the Magnolia State at center stage for Black voters in the 2018 midterm elections. Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings in the United States between 1882 and 1968,...Dana Nessel announces her transition team, including two Arab Americans
November 13th, 20180 LANSING - Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel recruited a team of experts to assist with the transition as she prepares to take office as Michigan’s 55th attorney general on Jan. 1. Nessel chose former Attorney General Frank Kelley, who served as Michigan’s AG for 37 years, as chair of her team. He was the longest-serving...Michiganders had highest turnout in five decades for midterm elections
November 12th, 20180 DEARBORN - Around 4.3 million Michiganders cast their ballots on Tuesday — more than 1 million more than the last gubernatorial election in 2014 — a surge that pushed voter turnout beyond levels seen in five decades. In 2014, 3,188,956 ballots were cast. Statewide turnout among registered voters was 57.5 percent — much higher...Women win both Michigan Supreme Court seats
November 12th, 20180 LANSING— Elizabeth T. Clement, who was snubbed by her own Republican party, and Megan Cavanagh, a Democratic nominee for the state's highest court, rode the pink wave in winning the two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court, which will now have three women and four men deciding cases that affect millions of Michiganders. Cavanagh, a...Stabenow defeats James, retains her seat in the U.S. Senate
November 11th, 20180 LANSING— Democratic U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow defeated her Republican challenger, John James, a 37-year-old Farmington Hills businessman, by the smallest margin since she was first elected back in 2000. Stabenow won a fourth term in a contest in which President Trump backed James. Stabenow, 68, of Lansing, won 52 percent of the...Republicans keep majorities in Michigan’s House and Senate, despite Democrats’ gain
November 11th, 20180 LANSING — Michigan Republicans will retain majorities in the Michigan House and Senate despite losing seats to Democrats in Tuesday's election, stopping a blue wave that swept the state's highest offices and setting the stage for a divided government that will be led by Democratic Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer. The Republicans...Rashida Tlaib wins U.S. House seat in landslide, defeats Jones’ write-in campaign
November 10th, 20180 DETROIT — Rashida Tlaib will be one of two Arab American and Muslim women ever to be elected to Congress after winning the seat of former U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. and defeating Brenda Jones' last minute write-in campaign, on Tuesday. The Palestinian American and vocal critic of President Trump was announced the winner of the 13th...Donna Shalala second Lebanese American woman to enter Congress
November 9th, 20181 FLORIDA – Democratic candidate Donna Shalala won the seat vacated by retiring Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, with 51.7 percent of the votes, defeating her Republican opponent, Maria Elvira Salazar, who received 45 percent of the votes, to flip a House seat that has long been targeted by...Sam Baydoun wins seat on the Wayne County Commission
November 9th, 20180 DEARBORN — On Tuesday, long-time real estate associate broker Sam Baydoun was elected to the 13th District Wayne County Commission seat vacated by outgoing Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak. Baydoun ran unopposed and received 30,920 votes. Woronchak, who mounted an unsuccessful run for State Senate, will step down in...Arab Americans win in Northville and Crestwood, but lose in Dearborn School Board races
November 9th, 20184 DEARBORN — In a dramatic contrast, all five Arab American candidates failed in the Dearborn Board of Education race on Tuesday, while other Arab Americans scored victories in Dearborn Heights' Crestwood School District and the Northville School Board. In Dearborn, the Arab American capital of the U.S., thousands of Arab voters went......
Voters pass all three state-wide proposals
November 9th, 20180 LANSING — All three of the statewide proposals in Michigan passed on Tuesday, November 6. Proposal One, which legalized recreational marijuana for adults, passed overwhelmingly, 55 to 44 percent, with 2,344,450 voters approving it and 1,849,005 voting no. Proposal Two's passage means an independent redistricting commission...For Democrats, U.S. House win moves Pelosi back to center stage
November 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON — Now that the Democrats have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, they need to choose a leader and that means solving one of their toughest puzzles: Nancy Pelosi. A contest among the Democrats for the House’s top job of speaker will play out over the next 10 weeks or so, with the formidable 78-year-old San...Dearborn voters renew Henry Ford College millage by wide margin
November 9th, 20180 DEARBORN — Voters living in the Dearborn Public School District approved on November 6 the renewal of a Henry Ford Community College millage for five years, starting in January. The approved mill represents approximately $4.2 million in annual revenue for HFC, amounting to about 5 percent of HFC’s nearly $90 million operating...Here are some facts about this midterm elections
November 6th, 20180 Control of both houses of the U.S. Congress and 36 state governorships are at stake in Tuesday’s elections, which are widely viewed as a referendum on Republican President Trump’s first two years in the White House. The following is a look at what will influence the outcome: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES One in four Americans......
Trump agenda at stake as voters decide control of U.S. Congress
November 6th, 20180 WASHINGTON - American voters will decide whether Trump’s Republicans maintain their grip on the U.S. Congress, or if Democrats can slow the president’s agenda after a divisive campaign marked by clashes over race, immigration and trade. The first national elections since Trump captured the White House in a stunning 2016 upset is a...Worthy endorses Wilder for Michigan Supreme Court
November 4th, 20180 DETROIT – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued a statement endorsing Justice Kurtis Wilder for election to Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 6. "On November 6, the citizens of Michigan will be voting for one of the most important offices on the ballot, the Michigan Supreme Court,” Worthy said in the statement. “I have......
Go to the polls on Nov. 6 and cast your vote
November 2nd, 20180 On Tuesday, November 6, the Arab American community must rise to the challenge and exercise their right and duty to vote. Now more than ever Arab American voters are needed at the polls to share history in the making. Rashida Tlaib won a historic race and was on her way to capitol Hill to be the first Arab American and Muslim woman to...Poll: Schuette and GOP gaining ground on Whitmer
October 29th, 20180 DETROIT— According to a new poll commissioned by the Detroit Free Press and its media partners, Democratic leads over Republicans in the Michigan races for governor and secretary of state have shrunk to 5 and 4 points respectively, while the attorney general's race is heating up as well. Although in the U.S. Senate race Democratic......