Rep. Rashida Tlaib easily holds off moderate primary challenger
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) had no trouble fending off a challenge from the center in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Tlaib was thought to be the most vulnerable member of the progressive "Squad," but any fears of a moderate upset were squashed when the results came in Wednesday. Tlaib carried 66.1 percent of the vote to Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones' 33.9 percent with 442 or 492 precincts reporting, and the race was called in Tlaib's favor, per The New York Times.
Tlaib only beat Jones by about 900 votes in 2018, after Jones was nominated to fill the seat vacated when Rep. John Conyers (D) resigned amid sexual harassment claims. She was among several progressives who ousted more moderate Democrats, and quickly joined forces with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). Tlaib raised eyebrows as she promised to "impeach the motherf---er," referring to President Trump, just days after being sworn in, but Democrats in Tlaib's district were clearly not disturbed, as Ocasio-Cortez noted.
Please put some respect on @RashidaTlaib’s victory last night.
She didn’t “survive” - she *overwhelmed* at the polls.
Throughout our first term, we‘ve been told our advocacy is “too much” to be re-elected.
Instead, voters supported her in huge margins.https://t.co/ckF1I9zSBr
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 5, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez already won her primary against a moderate Democrat, while Omar and Pressley's primaries have yet to happen.
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