Democratic voters in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District have a choice in the 2026 primary election: re-elect incumbent Rashida Tlaib or pick someone new.
Tlaib is seeking her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She’ll have to defeat two challengers whose names appear on the August ballot. One is former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson of Detroit. The other is Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen.
WDET’s Pat Batcheller asked the candidates why they’re running. Tlaib says she loves her constituents and wants to keep serving them.
“They want somebody that’s unbought and unapologetic,” she says. “Getting people through everyday challenges and issues is as important as any bill I could ever pass because it changed lives immediately.”
Who is Rashida Tlaib?
Tlaib was born and raised in Detroit, the eldest of 14 children whose ancestors are Palestinian.
“I was always protecting my siblings and even my mother as I would translate for her at the cashier counter,” she says.
Tlaib put herself through law school, worked at the Sugar Law Center, and served in the Michigan House of Representatives for six years. She became interested in politics as an aide to her legislative predecessor, Steve Tobocman.
“He said, ‘I’ll teach you how to kill a bill,'” she recalls. “When he was term-limited out, he asked me to run.”
She’s not shy
As a state lawmaker, and then as a congresswoman, Tlaib has been outspoken on many issues, such as immigration. Many of her constituents are immigrants who live in southwest Detroit, where she grew up. She also represents Dearborn, which has a large Arab American and Muslim population. Tlaib has criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants regardless of their legal status. She wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We’re getting complaints over and over that they’re deporting U.S. citizens,” she says. “We can have a comprehensive, very humane, and fair immigration system without this aggressive, very violent, militarized agency.”
Tlaib has been Washington’s most vocal critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians. Israel says it’s defending itself from terrorist groups such as Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Tlaib has voted against giving financial aid or weapons to Israel. And she doesn’t apologize for it.
“More of my colleagues are joining in now,” she says. “We’re talking about over 100 now who also support ending the funding.”
Roots in the community
Tlaib’s primary opponents say she spends too much time focusing on Israel and foreign policy than she does working for her constituents. One challenger, former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson, called Tlaib ineffective, saying Congress has only passed one of her bills in eight years.
Tlaib says that’s not true. She says the House passed several bills she sponsored, including a federal water assistance program.
“I was able to get $1.1 billion to help families get their water turned back on,” she says. “And $68 million back to the district through the community-funded projects from the Boys and Girls Clubs for home repair.”
Affordability goes beyond high prices
Tlaib agrees with Jackson and her other challenger, Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen, that affordability is a big issue in the 12th district. But she says it’s about more than just the cost of gasoline, food, and housing—it’s greed.
“The big banks, the corporations, the industries, all of them are extracting from our federal government and pulling all these resources away,” she says. “It’s all profit-driven, and it leaves a lot our families in survivor mode.”
Tlaib blames President Trump for much of the nation’s problems. He is one of Tlaib’s biggest critics. If House Democrats regain the majority in the 2026 midterm elections, Tlaib says she won’t back down during his final two years in office. And she resists her opponents’ calls to compromise with Republicans.
“How do you compromise with a fascist government that thinks my neighbors’ votes should count or that polluting their communities is OK?” she asks. “I push back no matter how unpopular it is.”
Whoever wins the primary election will likely win the general election in November because the 12th district is a Democratic stronghold. Voting ends on August 4.
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