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Brenda Jones to challenge Rashida Tlaib for Congressional seat

Brenda Jones Rashida Tlaib
Posted at 8:27 AM, Mar 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-25 14:22:33-04

(WXYZ) — Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones will challenge Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her seat in Michigan's 13th Congressional District.

Last week, Jones filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission, suggesting she will run for the 13th district.

In 2018, Jones won a special election to fill the remainder of John Conyers' term, but Tlaib won the primary election to get on the general election ballot. Tlaib beat Jones by just 887 votes in a race that also included Bill Wild, Coleman A. Young II, Ian Conyers and Shanelle Jackson.

Tlaib would go on to run nearly unopposed and won her two-year term with 84% of the vote.

In a video obtained by The Detroit News, Jones announced she is running while also mentioning COVID-19.

The 13th district includes portions of Detroit and Dearborn Heights, as well as cities including Ecorse, Garden City, Highland Park, Inkser, Melvindale, Redford Township, Romulus, Wayne and Westland.

At the end of 2019, Jones had nearly $2,000 in cash on hand but had more than $23,000 in debt, according to the FEC. Tlaib on the other hand had more than $1.2 million in cash on hand.