Stevens, El-Sayed and McMorrow in tight Michigan Senate primary
May 1st, 20260 DETROIT – The race for one of Michigan’s two seats in the United States Senate has emerged as a key battleground in the fight for control of the chamber, which allocates two senators to each state. In addition to Michigan’s status as a swing state, the decision by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters not to seek re-election has opened the...
Michigan Democrats pick 2026 candidates amid strong progressive, Arab American presence at Detroit convention
April 24th, 20260 DETROIT – With record participation exceeding 7,250 delegates from across Michigan and an unprecedented Arab American presence, the Michigan Democratic Party selected its nominees for several statewide races during its convention held Sunday, April 19, in Detroit. The outcome of the convention — both in the candidates chosen and the...
State Rep. Alabas Farhat launches reelection campaign for third term with strong community, political backing
April 24th, 20260 DEARBORN — Arab American State Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) officially launched his campaign for a third two-year term in the State House during a well-attended event Monday at Byblos Banquet Hall. Running under the slogan “Equity in resources and efficiency in execution”, Farhat is highlighting a legislative record that...
Wayne County voters to decide on SMART transit tax in August election
April 17th, 20261 DETROIT — Voters across Wayne County will head to the polls in the August 4 primary election to decide on a new tax proposal aimed at funding countywide public transportation. If approved, the ballot measure would impose a uniform property tax on all residential and commercial properties across the county’s 43 cities and townships...
AAPAC backs five candidates for key Michigan offices before the April 19 Democratic Nomination Convention in Detroit
April 10th, 20260 DEARBORN- On the eve of the Michigan Democratic Party Nomination Convention, which will convene in Detroit on April 19, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) announced a slate of five candidates it has endorsed for the November elections, urging Democratic delegates to support them during the convention. The convention...
Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen challenges U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan’s 12th District primary
March 27th, 20260 INKSTER — earlier this month Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen joined a growing list of Democratic candidates seeking to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. Unlike the previous election cycle in 2024, Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, will be required this year to compete in the...
Civil rights lawyer Amir Makled runs for University of Michigan Board of Regents on affordability, access and free speech
March 6th, 20260 Local attorney Amir Makled hopes to make history as the first Arab and Muslim American to serve on the University of Michigan Board of Regents, saying his decision to run is driven not by personal ambition but by his belief in the importance of equal representation within public institutions. The Lebanese American lawyer is seeking the...
Hamtramck Councilman Muhtasin Sadman pleads guilty to reduced charge in election fraud case
March 6th, 20260 Hamtramck City Council member Muhtasin Sadman has resolved a criminal case tied to allegations of election fraud in the 2023 Hamtramck municipal elections, after pleading guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Sadman entered the plea before Hamtramck District Court late last month, admitting...
Prominent attorney Shereef Akeel seeks seat on Wayne State University Board of Governors
February 27th, 20260 Arab American attorney Shereef Akeel does not hide his enthusiasm for adding a new chapter to his distinguished career defending civil rights, the law and the Constitution — this time by running for a seat on the Board of Governors at Wayne State University in Detroit. Akeel is competing for the Democratic Party nomination at its...
Benson, James and Duggan locked in tight 2026 Michigan gubernatorial race
February 27th, 20260 DETROIT — Despite varying results, multiple polls suggest that Michigan’s gubernatorial race is shaping up to be an exceptionally close contest between three leading figures: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (Democrat), U.S. Rep. John James (Republican) and independent candidate Mike Duggan. Although the Democratic and Republican...
Dearborn and Dearborn Heights prepare for high-stakes 2026 Michigan legislature races
February 20th, 20260 Among the most significant electoral contests this year, voters in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights will choose their representatives to the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate. Party primaries will take place August 4, ahead of the general election on November 3. The two cities — home to large Arab American...
Former House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash launches Michigan Senate bid in District 1
February 20th, 20260 DETROIT — Former Democratic State Rep. Abraham Aiyash, who made history in 2023 as the first Arab American to serve as majority floor leader of the Michigan House of Representatives, is preparing a return to the Capitol in Lansing — this time as a candidate for the Michigan Senate. Aiyash is running in Michigan’s First Senate...
Adam Hollier drops secretary of state bid, enters State Senate District 3 race
February 6th, 20260 DETROIT — Adam Hollier, a Democrat and U.S. Army paratrooper, announced he is suspending his campaign for Michigan secretary of state and pivoting to a run for State Senate District 3, a seat that spans Hamtramck, Highland Park and Detroit’s east side. Hollier, 40, previously served in the State Senate representing the former...
Wealthy businessman Perry Johnson Joins Michigan governor’s race, pledges $9 million early spending push
January 30th, 20260 BIRMINGHAM — Wealthy businessman Perry Johnson has joined a growing field of Republican candidates seeking Michigan’s governorship, pledging to spend heavily on a campaign centered on eliminating the state income tax, fixing schools and making state government more efficient. Launching his campaign Monday at a restaurant in downtown...
Former U.S. Attorney Mark Totten suspends campaign for state attorney general
January 30th, 20260 LANSING — Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced Tuesday that he is suspending his campaign to become Michigan’s next attorney general, citing a lack of momentum following key labor union endorsements. Totten, a Democrat, made the announcement on social media Tuesday afternoon, saying he no......
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist drops bid for governor, enters secretary of state race in major democratic shift
January 16th, 20260 LANSING — Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II announced on Monday that he is withdrawing from this year's gubernatorial race and will instead run for secretary of state. Gilchrist’s decision comes after he recently concluded that winning the Democratic nomination for governor in the statewide primary scheduled for...
Michigan braces for a pivotal election year and record-breaking spending
January 9th, 20260 LANSING — With the start of the new year, the state is preparing for a politically charged year, headlined by elections next fall widely expected to be the most expensive in Michigan’s history. That expectation is driven not only by fierce competition for open statewide offices, but also by the elections’ decisive role in shaping......
Adam Alharbi sworn in as Hamtramck mayor amid legal challenges and ongoing court battle
January 9th, 20260 HAMTRAMCK — Amid a tense legal atmosphere and reciprocal court challenges, Adam Alharbi was sworn in on Sunday as the new mayor of Hamtramck, succeeding outgoing Mayor Amer Ghalib. At the same time, hopes remain alive for his rival, outgoing City Council member Muhith Mahmood, who is awaiting an imminent decision from the Michigan...
Judge rejects ballot challenge and upholds Hamtramck’s mayoral election results, opposition appeals
December 26th, 20250 DETROIT, HAMTRAMCK — Hamtramck Mayor-elect Adam Alharbi took another decisive step toward confirming his victory in the November 4 municipal election after a Wayne County Circuit Court judge ruled on Tuesday to reject a request by his opponent, Muhith Mahmood, to count 37 absentee ballots that had been excluded by the county’s Board...
Hussein Berry switches races, leaves State Senate bid to take on Alabas Farhat in Michigan House District 3
December 26th, 20250 DEARBORN — Former Dearborn Board of Education member Hussein Berry announced last week that he is running for the Michigan House of Representatives as a Democrat in District 3, setting up a potential primary challenge against incumbent Rep. Alabas Farhat, who is seeking re-election next year for his third term in the House. District 3...
Abbas Alawieh announces bid for Michigan’s Second Senate District
December 12th, 20250 DEARBORN — Arab American political activist Abbas Alawieh announced his candidacy for the Michigan State Senate, running as a Democrat in District 2, which includes Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and parts of Allen Park and Detroit. The seat is currently held by Democratic State Senator Sylvia Santana. Michigan’s State Senate elections......
Michigan’s 2026 Secretary of State race takes shape ahead of state conventions
December 12th, 20250 LANSING — The race to succeed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is beginning to take shape on both the Democratic and Republican sides, just months ahead of the two parties’ conventions where nominees for the November 2026 general election will be chosen. On the Democratic side, former Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli,...
Hamtramck mayoral recount confirms Alharbi’s win as Mahmood presses legal fight over disputed ballots
December 5th, 20250 DETROIT – Although the hand recount in the Hamtramck mayoral race did not deliver the result hoped for by Bangladeshi American candidate Muhith Mahmood, the City Council member remains determined to continue his effort to overturn the outcome. Mahmood is urging the courts to count 37 absentee ballots that Wayne County election......
Six votes trigger Hamtramck mayoral recount between Mahmood and Alharbi
November 27th, 20250 HAMTRAMCK – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted on Tuesday to authorize a recount in the Hamtramck mayoral election, at the request of City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, who lost by just six votes. The recount is scheduled for Tuesday, December 2, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Wayne County Clerk’s Office. Five teams of two people...
Wayne County certifies Alharbi’s six-vote victory in Hamtramck mayoral race, Mahmood seeks recount
November 23rd, 20250 HAMTRAMCK – After two weeks of uncertainty and debate over the final outcome of Hamtramck’s mayoral election on November 4, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers officially certified the victory of Arab American candidate Adam Alharbi, by a razor-thin margin of six votes over his challenger, Bangladeshi American and sitting City......
