Debbie Dingell bids to keep congressional seat in family hands
Washington (CNN) - Debbie Dingell announced Friday that she's running this year for the seat being vacated by her husband, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan.
John Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress in history, announced Monday that he'll retire at the end of the year.
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"This decision was not easy for me. Let me be clear: I am not running to replace John Dingell (even if I wasn't married to him, I would have tried to convince him to run again). John Dingell is irreplaceable. But my drive to serve the people of this great state has led me here today," Debbie Dingell wrote in an email to supporters.
"I think we need more women at the table in politics and I am excited to show the voters just what we can do together," added Dingell.
John Dingell has served in the House for 58 years. He was 29 when he was first elected in a special election to fill the remainder of his late father's term. John Dingell, Sr. had held the seat since its creation in 1932.
CNN confirmed on Tuesday that Debbie Dingell, the congressman's wife of 38 years and a longtime Democratic National Committee member, would run for her husband's seat. Democratic strategists told CNN that Mrs. Dingell's entry into the race would basically clear the field of other major Democrats.
Democrats dominate Michigan's 12th Congressional District, which includes several working class southern suburbs of Detroit known as the "Downriver" area. The district stretches west to include Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan.
Dingell grabbed 68% of the vote in his 2012 re-election. And Barack Obama won two-thirds of the vote in the district in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.
In addition to her 30-year career at General Motors as a senior executive, Debbie Dingell has served on multiple boards of charities and organizations and has chaired several political campaigns, including former Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in Michigan.
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they must think michigan district cant live with out a Dingel..ugh
She's got my vote. I'm sick of the republicans that run this state. Tax breaks for the wealthy. Right to work for less. Roads, bridges and overpasses that should be condemned. But no we get a new bridge to Canada. While we wreck our cars on the roads that are covered with potholes on our way to our low paying jobs with hardly any benefits.
Thanks M. Snyder.
If she can serve the citizens of the district well, then that is fine. The members of Congress need to remember who they serve, and it shouldn't be the corporate donors that fund campaigns. We need less money in political campaigns.
Good luck to her.
much thunder...little rain
they must think michigan district cant live with out a Dingel..ugh
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My congressman passed away a few months ago after being in office for 42 years. A guy who worked for him is running for his seat, and he's using the previous guy's name in his ads. Using your logic, his supporters must think this district can't live with out a Young cronie..ugh
Democrats have already destroyed Michigan. Leave the poor state alone liberals.
Is this a hereditary right of the Dingell family to occupy this House seat?
No wonder Michigan resembles a third-world country.
Keep it in the family? Don't they have any kids? Kids who'd want to run for the seat? If they have kids who don't want to run for the seat, I think that she should take the hint. Besides, who would "keep it in the family" after her, anyway?
THis Ding Dong lady thinks she has a chance, what a joke.
Do the brain dead republicans think they can beat her? Ted Nugent, Hannity, and Koch brothers hate can only go so far.
CALIFORNIA
Democrats have already destroyed Michigan. Leave the poor state alone liberals.
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Democrats? For the past 50 years, since 1963, Democrats have held the governor's office for only 16 years.
@Truzinski
THis Ding Dong lady thinks she has a chance, what a joke.
And you are so familiar with the political situation in Michigan? From what I read, Dingle is well loved there. Why can't this "Ding Dong Lady" win?