2018 Michigan's 13th congressional district special election
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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.
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November 6, 2018
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Michigan's 13th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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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 on 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
Withdrew
- Michael Gilmore, attorney and activist[4]
Declined
- Warren Evans, Wayne County Executive[15]
- Shanelle Jackson, former state representative and candidate for MI-13 in 2012 (running in MI-13 regular election)[16][17]
- Greg Mathis, television personality and former judge[18][19]
- 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)[20][21]
Endorsements
Federal politicians
- 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]
Results
| 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
| 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 | |||||