AAPI Vote 2018: Muslim American woman makes history in Michigan

Rashida Tlaib exults in her win in Michigan's Primary elections.

MICHIGAN'S ASIAN AMERICANS, no longer content to sitting on the sidelines, joined the political fray by running for state and Congressional offices.

Abdul El-Sayed and Shri Thanedar lost their bids to gain the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor but a Muslim American woman may have stolen the spotlight in Michigan's primary election Tuesday, Aug. 7.

State Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American, won the Democratic nomination in the 13th Congressional District. 

Tlaib has no Republican or third-party opposition for November almost guaranteeing that she will make history by becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the U.S. Congress. However, there may still be write-in opponents.

"The 13th District wanted a fighter and they're getting one," she tweeted this morning. "I am so humbled by the trust working families have put in my pledge to take on the corporate bullies and make policy that allows us all to thrive. I will not let you down."

Like many Democratic candidates, Tlaib has been critical of Donald Trump and his regressive policies, referring to his election as the "bat signal" that provoked many progressive women to run for office. 

Two years ago, she was arrested for disrupting a Trump speech in downtown Detroit, where she shouted at him that "our kids deserve better" and encouraged him to read the Constitution. She ran on a decidely left platform and was backed by the progressive Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution and Justice Democrats.

"She may be the first Muslim congresswoman, but she just opened the door for millions of Rashidas to follow. As a Muslim and Arab father of a 9-month-old baby girl, I've never felt more hopeful about my daughter's future," said Zaki Barzinji, the White House liaison to American Muslims under former President Barack Obama.

Gretchen Whitmer easily won the the Democrats' gubernatorial primary over her two rivals.

Last minute campaigning with  Sen. Bernie Sanders and rising star Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez helped El-Sayed surge past Indian American millionaire Thanedar, who faded down the stretch despite personal donations to his campaign of millions of dollars.

About two-hours after the polls closed Tuesday night, El-Sayed, whose parents are from Egypt, addressed his supporters whose cheers turned to tears when he conceded. 

"I like to think that even though I'm not going to get the opportunity to serve, now we've ignited a belief of what's possible in young people ," he said.

He pledged to support Whitmir's campaign in November against Republican Bill Schuette, Michigan's Attorney General.

In the 8th Congressional District Indian American businessman Lokesh Kumar failed to upset incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Bishop.

Fayrouz Saad, a Lebanese American and Indian American Suneel Gupta ran out of the running for the Democratic nomination for Congressional District 11. Two first-time candidates, former Obama administration official Haley Stevens will represent the Democrats against Republican Lena Epstein.

At the state level, Padma Kuppa, an Indian American, was unopposed in the Democratic primary for State House District 41. Doug Tietz eked out a win in a tight contest for the Repubican nomination.

Indian American Aditi Bagchi ran for the State House from District 38, and made a good showing garnering 34 percent of the vote, but eventually lost to Kelly Breen (49 percent).

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AAPI VOTE 2018: Indian American, Muslim American in the thick of Michigan governor's race

Vying for the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor are, from left: Shri Thanedar,
Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed.

THREE DEMOCRATIC candidates for governor seek to bolster their campaigns the week before Michigan's August 7 Primary.

A new poll released by Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) shows Gretchen Whitmer pulling ahead of Shri Thanedar and Abdul El-Sayed to represent the Democrats.

The poll found Whitmer pulling away with 40 percent of likely voters, while Indian American Thanedar and Muslim American El-Sayed landed at 19 and 17 percent.

Michigan Primary,
August 7

Thanedar, a self-made millionaire has donated about $11.41 million to his campaign for a late push in advertising. Thanedar said most of that money is from his personal savings that he has earned by "working hard, building small businesses and creating jobs." 

"This campaign is about diverse people coming together to break the corporate chokehold on our politics," said El-Sayed. "It’s fueled by the contributions of grassroots donors and the hard work of over 4000 volunteers - a people-powered movement that has been doing the work of democracy in communities across the state.

El-Sayed received the endorsement of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. the new progressive hero since she won her primary against the incumbent in New York. She did a tour of the state stumping for him last weekend. 

He hopes a pair of rallies with Bernie Sanders in the coming days will help energize his grassroots campaign to get out the young progressive voters seeking a change from the traditional Democratic party represented by Whitmer.

The MIRS poll shows Abdul in a very competitive position with stronger support among voters of color than any other candidate in the race, His campaign believes the poll over-sampling older white voters (in particular union members) and under-sampled young voters and voters of color, in particular Arab American voters in the state with the largest per capita Arab American community in the country.

Whitmir, who has raised the biggest warchest, is running a series of ads questioning Thanedar's professed progressive qualifications.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, the poll found the state Attorney General Bill Schuette leading Lt. Governor Brian Calley by a margin of 45 percent to 16 percent. 

MIRS also asked voters from both parties and independents who are likely to cast a ballot in the general election who they would choose in head-to-head match ups between Thanedar and Scheutte, and Whitmer and Schuette. That found Schuette at 37 percent in both surveys, and Whitmer and Thanedar at 42 and 40 percent, respectively. 

CORRECTION 8/1, 9 a.m.: Earlier versions of this story had an incorrect amount of money that candidate Thenedar donated to his campaign.
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Campaign for Michigan governor turns ugly with anti-Muslim message

ABDUL EL-SAYED CAMPAIGN

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks to his supporters

ASAM NEWS

AN ATTEMPT in Michigan by a Republican candidate for governor to tie his Democratic opponent to the Muslim Brotherhood is drawing outrage, reports Click on Detroit.
State Sen. Patrick Colbeck is accusing Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of belonging to the Muslim Student Association during his years at the University of Michigan. The student group is a sanctioned club on campus, and according to El-Sayed, has no ties to terrorism.

According to Buzzfeed, state and local Republican candidates have attacked Islam in 49 states since 2015. The article accused Colbeck of pushing “false conspiracy theories.”

“Of course, I knew that in choosing to run for governor as an unapologetic, proud Muslim and American, I was going to contend with the ugly face of White supremacy that Donald Trump and his friends have sanctioned,” El-Sayed said. “But I know that every day I serve this state and this country, beholding us to our ideals and our constitution, which empower and inspire me to serve every single person in our state, regardless of my ethnicity, color or faith.”

Colbeck denied the allegations saying he is merely raising concerns specific to El-Sayed and not all Muslim/Americans.

El-Sayed was born and raised in Michigan. His parents immigrated from Egypt. He is considered the most serious challenger to Democratic frontrunner Gretchen Whitmer. His politics lean towards the so-called "progressive" wing of the party, which explains why Bernie Sanders supporters have flocked to his campaign.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, he went on as a Rhoades scholar and got his doctorate from Oxford University. He earned his medical degree at Columbia University.

He returned to Michigan to head up Detroit's Health Department after it was decimated and demoralized by privatization in the previous administration. Uunder his leadership, the Detroit Health Department has become a state and national leader in public health innovation and environmental justice, in one of the fastest municipal public health turnarounds in American history.

He is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. The primary election is Aug. 7. The winner of that contest will represent the party in the November elections against some independents and the Republican nominee.  Besides Colbeck, there are three other Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

Colbeck isn't subtle with his bigotry. according to a report from Buzzfeed, in almost every speech Colby says in nearly every speech that people tell him that El-Sayed is probably “a little too young, a little too brown and a little too Muslim” to be a viable candidate for governor.

PATRICK COLBECK

Sarah Anderson, spokeswoman for the Michigan Republican Party, said Colbeck’s pronouncements have no place in the GOP.

“The party isn’t interested in peddling any conspiracy theories and anything he said was not on behalf of the party,” she told the Detroit Free Press. “We categorically condemn any sort of hate speech, regardless of the source.”

Muslims make up only about 2.75 percent of Michigan's population. However, their small size doesn't match the huge impact they have on the state. According to a report by the  Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, more than 15 percent of Michigan's medical doctors are Muslim, as are more than 10 percent of all pharmacists, more than 7 percent of all dentists, 6.9 percent of podiatrists, and 6.1 percent of osteopaths. These Muslim medical professionals provide 1.6 million appointments to patients per year and indirectly support 39,987 jobs.

In fact, the city of Hamtramck, surrounded by the city of Detroit, received international attention in 2016 when it elected a majority-Muslim city council. The city also became the first to have a majority-Muslim population in 2013),

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report)

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