2018 Michigan's 13th congressional district special election

2018 Michigan's 13th congressional district special election

November 6, 2018
Michigan's 13th congressional district
Nominee Brenda Jones Marc Sosnowski Party Democratic Constitution Popular vote 169,330 17,302 Percentage 86.84% 8.87%
U.S. Representative before election John Conyers Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Brenda Jones Democratic

A special election for Michigan's 13th congressional district was held on November 6, 2018, following the resignation of Democratic U.S. Representative John Conyers.

The Democratic primary was held on August 7, 2018. No Republican candidate ran in the special election, making the win in the Democratic primary tantamount to election in this district.^[1] Both the primary for this election and primary for the regular election were concurrent; similarly, the special election was held the same day as regular election. The winner of the regular Democratic primary was former state Representative Rashida Tlaib, who went on to win the regular general election.

The winner of the special Democratic primary was Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, who served from November 29, 2018, to January 3, 2019.

Background

Incumbent U.S. Representative John Conyers announced on December 5, 2017, that he would resign after a sexual harassment scandal. He had represented the 13th and its predecessors since 1965 (it was numbered as the 1st from 1965 to 1993 and as the 14th from 1993 to 2013), and was the longest-serving member of the House at the time.

Three days after Conyers' resignation, Governor Rick Snyder set a date for the special election.^[2] It was scheduled for November 6, 2018, concurrent with the regular election for a full two-year term. Primaries were held August 7. The filing deadline for candidates was April 24, 2018.^[3] As a result, the 13th's seat remained vacant for nearly a year.

Republican primary

Candidates

Failed to qualify

• David Dudenhoefer, author and photographer^[4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Ian Conyers, state senator^[5][6]
• Brenda Jones, president of the Detroit City Council^[7]
• Rashida Tlaib, former state representative^[8]
• Bill Wild, Mayor of Westland^[9]

Failed to qualify

• John Conyers III, hedge fund manager (running as an independent)^[10][11][12]
• Kimberly Hill Knott, government relations, environmental justice^[13][14]

Withdrew

• Michael Gilmore, attorney and activist^[4]

Declined

• Warren Evans, Wayne County Executive^[15]
• Greg Mathis, television personality and former judge^[16][17]
• Horace Sheffield, pastor and candidate for MI-13 in 2014^[15]
• Coleman Young II, state senator and candidate for Mayor of Detroit in 2017 (running for MI-13 regular election)^[18][19]
• Shanelle Jackson, former state representative and candidate for MI-13 in 2012 (running in MI-13 regular election)^[20][21]

Endorsements

Brenda Jones

Federal politician

• Brenda Lawrence, U.S. Representative (D-MI)^[7]

Local politicians

• Mike Duggan, Mayor of Detroit^[22]
• Greg Mathis, 36th District County judge^[23]

Labor unions

• Michigan AFL-CIO^[24]
• United Autoworkers^[25]

Rashida Tlaib

Federal politician

• Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative (D-CA)^[26]

State politician

• Ilhan Omar, Minnesota State Representative^[27]

Organizations

• Emgage PAC^[28]
• Justice Democrats^[29]
• People for Bernie^[30]
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee^[31]

Results

Democratic primary results^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brenda Jones	32,769	37.8
	Democratic	Rashida Tlaib	31,121	35.8
	Democratic	Bill Wild	13,174	15.2
	Democratic	Ian Conyers	9,749	11.2
	Democratic	Clyde Darnell Lynch (write-in)	2	0.0
Total votes			86,815	100.0

General election

Campaign

Brenda Jones won the Democratic primary for the special election, but lost the Democratic primary for the regular election to Rashida Tlaib. Both the special primary and regular primary were held concurrently. Jones won the special election on November 6, and served for just over eight weeks.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[33]	Solid D	May 4, 2018
Inside Elections/Rothenberg Political Report[34]	Solid D	May 16, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[35]	Safe D	May 16, 2018

Results

2018 Michigan's 13th congressional district special election^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Brenda Jones	169,330	86.84%	+9.74%
	Constitution	Marc Sosnowski	17,302	8.87%	N/A
	Green	D. Etta Wilcoxon	8,319	4.27%	N/A
	Write-in		42	0.02%	N/A
Total votes			194,993	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

References

1. Weigel, David (August 8, 2018). "Michigan Democrats elect Detroit City Council president to fill out final weeks of John Conyers's term". Washington Post.
2. White, Max (December 5, 2017). "Gov. Snyder reviewing dates for special election to replace John Conyers". WXYZ. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
3. "The Latest: Governor calls special election for Conyers seat". The Republic. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
4. "2018 Michigan Unofficial Primary Candidate Listing - July 8, 2018". miboecfr.nictusa.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
5. Bever, Lindsey (December 5, 2017). "John Conyers could be replaced by his son — who has his dad's name but not his political resume". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
6. "Election Information | Clerk". www.waynecounty.com. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
7. Hicks, Mark (January 26, 2018). "Detroit City Council head seeks Conyers' Congress seat". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
8. Spangler, Todd (February 6, 2018). "Former Michigan state Rep. Rashida Tlaib to seek Conyers' seat in Congress". Detroit Free Press.
9. "Westland Mayor Bill Wild to run for John Conyers' vacated U.S. House seat".
10. "Clerk tosses Conyers III from Congress ballot". Detroit News. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
11. "Clerk: Conyers III short of valid signatures for ballot". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
12. Weber, Joseph (May 21, 2018). "Disgraced Dem Conyers endorsed son for his own seat – but he didn't qualify". Fox News. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
13. "Kim4CONGERSS on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
14. "2018 Michigan Candidate Listing". Michigan Secretary of State. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
15. Gray, Kathleen (December 5, 2017). "Race for John Conyers' Congressional seat: Free-for-all predicted". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
16. Burke, Melissa Nann; Sarah, Rahal (January 4, 2018). "Mathis mulls leaving TV show to run for Congress". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
17. Fleming, Leonard H. (January 12, 2018). "Judge Mathis decides against Congress run". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
18. Oosting, Jonathan (December 8, 2017). "Coleman Young II running for Congress". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
19. Williams, Corey; Eggert, David (December 8, 2017). "Son of late Detroit Mayor Coleman Young to run for John Conyers' seat". The Press Democrat. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
20. Oosting, Jonathan (December 7, 2017). "Conyers III denies allegations, unsure on Congress run". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
21. Burke, Melissa Nann (February 5, 2018). "State lawmakers running for open seats in Congress". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
22. Riley, Rochelle (February 5, 2018). "Detroit mayor endorses Brenda Jones to replace John Conyers". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
23. Jones, Brenda (June 28, 2018). "So happy to have the endorsement of my dear friend, Judge Greg Mathis and so many others! #VoteBrendaJones Find out how you can join #TeamJones too at". Brenda Jones for Congress.
24. Bieber, Ron (June 18, 2018). "Michigan AFL-CIO Endorses Candidates for 2018 Election - Michigan AFL-CIO". Michigan AFL-CIO. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
25. "Michigan – Official UAW Endorsements". uawendorsements.org.
26. Khanna, Ro [@RoKhanna] (July 2, 2018). "I have been explicit about the need for new voices in the Democratic party. @ocasio2018, @RashidaTlaib, and @BrentWelder are part of a new generation that is going to lead us to a fairer and freer America" (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2018 – via Twitter.
27. "Rashida Tlaib". Representative Ilhan Omar. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
28. "Emgage PAC endorses Fayrouz Saad and Rashida Tlaib for Congress | EmgagePAC". emgagepac.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
29. "Justice Democrats| Candidates". now.justicedemocrats.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
30. ".@RashidaTlaib will go to Washington and represent the needs of ALL Michiganders. This is why we're endorsing her.pic.twitter.com/wyCBaGrSv0". @People4Bernie.
31. "Progressive Change Campaign Committee". Boldprogressives.org. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
32. "2018 Michigan Official Primary Election Results". September 27, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
33. "House Maps". The Cook Political Report.
34. "Michigan | Inside Elections". www.insideelections.com.
35. "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2018 House". www.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
36. "2018 Official General Election Results". Michigan Secretary of State. November 26, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Brenda Jones (D) for Congress