Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who has served in the U.S. House from Michigan since 2019 and represents the 12th congressional district, is running for re-election in 2026 against Republican James Hooper.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- July 24, 1976
- Birthplace
- Detroit, Michigan
- Education
- Southwestern High School (1994)
Wayne State University (Bachelor of Arts in political science, 1998)
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Juris Doctor, 2004)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Rashida Tlaib was born Rashida Harbi Elabed in Detroit on July 24, 1976, the eldest of 14 children of working-class Palestinian immigrants.
Her mother was born in Beit Ur al-Fauqa, near Ramallah, and her father, born in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem, worked on an assembly line at a Ford Motor Company plant. As the eldest, she helped raise her siblings while her parents worked.
She graduated from Southwestern High School in 1994, earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Wayne State University in 1998 and a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2004, and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 2007.
Career
Rashida Tlaib began her political career in 2004 as an intern for State Representative Steve Tobocman, who hired her to his staff in 2007 and encouraged her to run for his seat.
She won the 2008 election, becoming the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and represented the 6th and 12th districts in the Michigan House of Representatives.
Term limits ended her House service in 2014, and after losing a state Senate primary that year she worked at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit nonprofit that provides free legal representation for workers.
In 2018 Tlaib won the Democratic nomination and the general election in Michigan's 13th congressional district, becoming the first Palestinian American woman in Congress and, with Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to it.
She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and of The Squad. After redistricting, she won the newly drawn 12th district in 2022 with 71% of the vote and a third term in 2024 with over 69%, defeating Republican James Hooper.
The House censured her on November 7, 2023, over her public statements following the October 7 attacks on Israel. Her committee assignments have included Financial Services, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Reform.
2026 race
Rashida Tlaib is seeking re-election in Michigan's 12th congressional district, which is based in northern Wayne County and includes Dearborn and Southfield.
She won the Democratic primary with 73.92% of the vote, defeating former state representative Shanelle Jackson, who took 16.85%, and Inkster mayor Byron Nolen, who took 9.23%. Her Republican opponent is James D. Hooper, a tradesman who was the party's nominee for the seat in 2024.
Constitution Party candidate Marc Sosnowski, Green Party candidate Brenda K. Sanders and Working Class Party candidate Gary Walkowicz are also on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2026.