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.

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 Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen. The is former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson of Detroit. 

WDET’s Pat Batcheller asked Jackson why she’s running against Tlaib. She says the district needs someone who focuses more on what’s happening in Detroit.

“I feel like we’re a stool for her to stand on to move and project the needs of another group of people that are suffering somewhere else,” Jackson says.

Who is Shanelle Jackson?

Jackson describes herself as “a Detroit girl through and through.” She attended Detroit Public Schools, the University of Michigan, and Marygrove College. She earned a master’s degree in social justice and political science and became a lawyer. At age 26, she ran for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. She won, becoming the youngest woman of color ever elected to the state Legislature. She served six years from 2007 through 2012. 

Jackson says she became an effective Democratic policy maker by working with Republicans.

“I drove across the state, I met them in their districts,” she says. “I learned the art of policymaking, moving policies to change folks’ lives.” 

Jackson says Tlaib lacks that ability.

“You have to have a willingness to be amenable to the other side,” Jackson says. “You’ve got to be willing to sit with them to work with them, understand them, learn from them, listen.”

Addressing poverty is critical

Jackson says affordability is the top issue facing the 12th district. She says the root of that is poverty, which affects almost half of Metro Detroit. She says the way to break that cycle is to help people find work.

“We do that with education,” Jackson says. “But we also do that with investment in job training, public-private partnerships.”

The former lawmaker says Congress needs to help people who receive public assistance avoid what she calls the “benefits cliff.”

“What happens is you get men and women who are on assistance, they get a small raise,” she says. “But as soon as they get that, they get pushed off assistance.”

Jackson says she hopes to restore people’s trust in government. 

“Some folks feel disenchanted with the process,” she says. “I’ll tell your story; I’ll make sure that our voice and our perspective is heard.”

Finding common ground

Despite her reservations about Tlaib’s effectiveness, Jackson says she shares many of the congresswoman’s positions.

“She’s a great advocate on social justice issues,” Jackson says. Both women support women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and universal health care. But Israel is a different story.

Tlaib has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s government 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. Jackson says she stands with Israel, but doesn’t want the U.S. to rush into any conflict.

“I will work toward more diplomatic efforts stopping this war that the president went into without going to Congress for authorization,” she says.

Jackson also says she would reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Tlaib says the government should abolish ICE.

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.

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. Nolen says he says he wants to change the tone of American politics.

“Everybody’s standing in their corner and looking at each other, saying ‘I hate you, I don’t want to talk to you,’ and they’re not getting things done,” the mayor says. “I pride myself on getting things done.”

Who is Byron Nolen?

Nolen was born and raised in Inkster. He became a lawyer and represented city residents in a lawsuit over water rates. After they won their case, Nolen says people urged him to run for mayor. He was reluctant at first.

“We were a city manager form of government at the time,” he recalls. “I would just be a glorified city council person.” 

Nolen ran anyway and the city revised its charter to give the mayor more power. Voters elected him in 2015, ousted him in 2019, and returned him to office in 2023.

He says affordability is the most important issue in the 12th district. If elected, Nolen says he would work to make their lives better. 

“Do what you need to do to improve the quality of life,” he says. “If you can’t do that, get out of the way and let somebody else take over.”

Nolen says he believes Rep. Tlaib has lost that focus.

“I think she’s more of an activist than she is actually a politician or someone who’s trying to get things done for the district,” he argues.

Nolen says he prioritizes local issues

Tlaib has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s government 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. Nolen says he hopes the U.S. changes its policies and makes future aid to Israel conditional. He says that might have happened if Tlaib had openly supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. 

“You could have had that conversation with Kamala Harris,” he says. “Now, you’re trying to have it with Donald Trump. That’s going to be tough.”

While Nolen might differ with Tlaib’s approach to foreign policy, he does agree with her on many domestic issues, including women’s reproductive rights.

“Your body, your choice, you do what you need to do,” he says. “I don’t think men should be part of the conversation.”

Nolen says he also supports LGBTQ+ rights and universal health care, just as Tlaib does. 

He pledges to work across the aisle

Whoever wins the primary election will likely win the general election in November because the 12th district is a Democratic stronghold. If the party wins control of Congress, Nolen says he would work with Republicans to get things done during the final two years of President Trump’s second term.

“The president is only going to sign bills that he wants to sign,” the mayor says. “You figure out what his priority list is, look at what you want to get done, see if there’s some common ground, and try to go after those things.”