{"id":2188916,"date":"2024-02-29T09:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T14:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/great-stakes-michigans-black-representation-problem-could-become-bidens-in-november\/"},"modified":"2024-02-29T09:31:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T14:31:13","slug":"great-stakes-michigans-black-representation-problem-could-become-bidens-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/great-stakes-michigans-black-representation-problem-could-become-bidens-in-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan&#8217;s lack of black representation may pose a challenge for Biden in November"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgreat-stakes-michigans-black-representation-problem-could-become-bidens-in-november%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2188916&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Great \u200dStakes: The Fight for Victory in Michigan<\/h2>\n<h3>Lack of\u200c Black Democratic Party Representation\u200c in Washington<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Michigan voters have an outsize impact on who will win the\u2063 White House and which \u200dparty will carry the House and Senate in 2024. In this series, the Washington Examiner will look at the thorny politics and unique matters \u2062that will swing the critical battleground state. Part five, below, examines the lack of black Democratic Party representation in Washington.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>DETROIT, Michigan \u200b\u2014 \u200bMichigan&#8217;s \u2064largest city is not represented by a black member of Congress for the first time in \u2064more \u200dthan half a century, but the Democratic primary for Detroit&#8217;s 13th Congressional \u2062District underscores a broader problem for the party and President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>Four years after black voters helped Biden \u2064win the 2020 \u200dDemocratic presidential nomination, prominent members of the\u2063 community have expressed concerns that the powerful voting\u2064 bloc is once again being taken for granted, \u200bparticularly as the president tries to appeal to working-class voters in battleground states such as Michigan. However, Michigan Veterans Affairs \u200bAgency Director Adam Hollier, \u2063a young black and \u200bNative\u200c American man and former state senator, is \u200bhoping \u2063his campaign\u200d can simultaneously address those concerns and provide \u2063support for Biden.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2062 addition to improving\u200b constituent services and criticizing the \u200crise \u200dof self-funders in electoral politics, Hollier, 38, is \u2063emphasizing his race in his primary against Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) for the\u200d Motor City, which has more than 621,000 residents, three-quarters of whom are black. \u200dTo put those numbers into perspective, Biden won Michigan over then-President Donald\u2063 Trump in 2020 \u200bby 154,000, but Trump won\u2064 the state over\u2064 former \u200dSecretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016\u2064 by 11,000.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t talk about what matters\u2063 to people by ignoring \u2062who they\u200d are,&#8221; Hollier told \u200dthe\u200d Washington Examiner.\u200c &#8220;Race is important for a\u2064 variety\u200c of reasons. Gender is important for a\u2062 variety of reasons. Sexual \u2064identity and orientation are important for a variety \u200cof reasons. Because they impact decisions that we have in front of us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are some real challenges in Detroit\u2062 where black voters or black \u200cpeople don&#8217;t feel like\u2063 the opportunities are moving forward for \u2062them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Let&#8217;s\u200d talk about that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thanedar, 69, an Indian-born former businessman and Michigan House lawmaker, is a first-term incumbent after winning the 2020 primary against\u2064 Hollier\u200d by\u2063 4,000 votes, in part \u200cbecause a \u2064crowded,\u200c predominately black \u2062field of nine candidates\u2064 diluted the \u2064black vote. But this cycle, \u200cHollier intentionally announced early and had conversations with possible contenders.<\/p>\n<p>Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters, \u200dthe only other black candidate actively running in\u200d the primary, agreed:\u2064 &#8220;Frankly, \u2062these are disappointing times when, arguably,\u200b America&#8217;s blackest city is without black congressional representation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;However, just a black face without the commitment to truly represent a district wallowing in\u200b poverty to \u200dtake\u2064 on \u2062inhumane corporate apologists for the status quo \u200bwould be equally disappointing,&#8221; Waters said in a statement. &#8220;The Michigan Democratic \u200dParty is stagnant and out of touch with true \u2063grassroots \u2064folk in Michigan and should\u2062 never be allowed to \u2063pick one black candidate\u200d for any office. \u200dThat is antithetical to democracy and\u2064 racist in its implications.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, \u2062Hollier amplified the\u200d importance of the message\u200b and the messenger, predicting\u2062 Trump will campaign in Michigan with the state&#8217;s only black \u200cmember of Congress,\u2063 Rep. John \u200cJames, a Republican.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Donald\u200b Trump is going to come to Michigan and have his\u200b arms around John James and say, &#8216;Look, black guys, \u2062what are the \u200dDemocrats doing?'&#8221;\u2062 he said. &#8220;Which is one of the\u200d big reasons it&#8217;s so important for me to win my primary \u200dand make sure that\u2064 Michigan and Democrats have a counter to that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thanedar nor James responded to the Washington\u200c Examiner&#8217;s requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>For Wayne State University political \u200cscience professor\u2062 Ronald Brown, the Democratic \u200dParty&#8217;s primary process had &#8220;structure&#8221;\u2062 problems, and \u2063incumbents are &#8220;hard to beat.&#8221; University of Michigan-Dearborn professor emeritus\u2062 Ronald Stockton\u2062 acknowledged the Detroit \u2064black community&#8217;s &#8220;dissatisfaction&#8221;\u200c with\u2062 its lack\u2063 of representation but\u2063 was more complimentary of Thanedar, calling \u200bhim &#8220;charming&#8221; \u2064and &#8220;personable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When he ran for governor, I liked him,&#8221;\u200d Stockton said. &#8220;I \u2062don&#8217;t\u2063 think I would have voted\u2062 for\u200c him, but he was articulate, and he raised the right issues. I don&#8217;t like billionaires running, funding themselves, but \u2062he was credible. He looked persuasive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Democratic political\u2064 consultant and\u200c commentator\u2063 Adolph Mongo was less\u200b charitable toward Thanedar but argued Hollier was not managing &#8220;a good campaign,&#8221; \u2063encouraging him \u200cto &#8220;get their message out.&#8221;\u200b More \u200bgenerally, Mongo scrutinized Biden for only\u200b meeting with mostly white union workers in Michigan and the Democratic Party at large for only reaching out to\u200b the black community &#8220;in a crisis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I guess it is \u2064a crisis because we \u200bhave a lot of folks that are disenchanted with the president,&#8221; Mongo said. &#8220;Clinton lost Michigan because she did\u2063 not \u200dsend anything to \u2062the city of\u2062 Detroit. She came once in \u2064a\u200c controlled setting, and that was it. She lost by several thousand votes that she could have picked up. It&#8217;s the \u200dsame criticism. It&#8217;s like Groundhog Day. We complain every election. We don&#8217;t get any respect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Democratic Party better get their act together. That&#8217;s all I can \u200csay,&#8221; Mongo said, arguing apathy may keep black \u2063voters \u200chome in November. &#8220;They\u200c think at the end of the day, the black \u200dvoters are\u2064 going to come home, and the\u2063 Arab voters are going to come home, and the Latino\u2063 voters are going to come home. They&#8217;re going \u200dto come home \u2064to their home\u200b and \u200bnot to the Democratic home because a nonvote\u2064 for President Biden is a vote for \u2064Donald\u2064 Trump.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The \u2062Rev. Horace Sheffield III, chairman of the Ecumenical Ministers Alliance, broadened the matter of representation beyond Detroit, contending\u2064 that &#8220;it&#8217;s\u2064 no different from the need \u200dof any other group whose community\u200b needs protection and advocation to have its own representation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one knows our problems or\u2064 needs better than us,\u2062 and therefore, we are best\u200d suited to advocate on our \u200cbehalf,&#8221; Sheffield said. &#8220;Additionally, for over 50 years, Detroit, a city with a majority black population, enjoyed\u200b one if not \u2064two representatives in Congress.\u2064 Now, we have none. \u2063This should not be so. The consequences \u200dof not having\u2062 our own representative in Congress means our\u2062 voice is not heard \u200cand our needs are not addressed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Specifically \u2062regarding Biden, Tiffany Funderburk, an enrollment specialist at Detroit-based Pathways Academy, described herself as being &#8220;satisfied&#8221; but not &#8220;happy&#8221; with \u2062the president because, although\u200b he is introducing &#8220;changes and improvements,&#8221; &#8220;there&#8217;s so much \u200bmore to\u2064 do.&#8221; In this week&#8217;s Emerson College Polling\/Hill \u200bsurvey of Michigan voters, Biden won black voters over Trump, 68% to 21%, but\u2063 his \u2062margin \u2064of victory was\u200d smaller when respondents considered third-party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy \u2063Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein, 61% to\u2064 18%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What I \u200bwould\u2062 say to him is let&#8217;s concentrate\u200d on the people at large \u200band not agendas,&#8221; Funderburk\u200d said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think that black women need special privileges. I don&#8217;t think that\u200b the queer community needs \u2062special privileges. I just think\u2064 if the president is concentrating on \u2062just being \u200dfair to people,\u2062 that would\u200b be\u200d all-inclusive. I think that it calls \u200cout people, and it causes this unnecessary bias and prejudice among people because it seems you&#8217;re more concerned about this community than that community when the truth is, let&#8217;s just make a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brexit-trade-deal-published-as-uk-calls-for-end-to-ugly-divisions\/\" title=\"Brexit trade deal published as UK calls for end to \u2018ugly\u2019 divisions\">level playing field<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sheffield continued: &#8220;Biden is\u200c doing enough. What we now need is to add our efforts to his so we can make\u2062 more progress.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/michigan-black-democratic-party-representation-washington\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM\u200c THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<p>President\u2062 Joe Biden, \u200bcenter, takes \u200cphotos with patrons at They Say restaurant during\u200d a campaign\u2063 stop on Thursday, \u2063Feb. 1, \u20632024, in \u2064Harper Woods, Michigan. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What urgent and committed actions should the Democratic Party\u200c take to address the lack of black representation in Washington and prioritize the needs and\u2063 concerns\u200d of the black community<\/h2>\n<p><span>  D\u2064 stated. &#8220;It is important for black voters to see themselves\u2063 reflected in their elected officials and to have their voices heard in\u200d the political decision-making\u2063 process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The lack of black \u2062Democratic Party\u200d representation in Washington is not just a \u200bproblem for Detroit, but for the entire\u2064 state of Michigan. The state has a\u200d long history of being a key battleground in presidential elections, and the black vote has \u2062played a\u200c significant role in determining the outcome. In order for\u200c the Democratic\u2063 Party to \u200csecure \u200dvictory in Michigan and across the country, it\u2063 must address the concerns\u200c of the black \u200ccommunity and ensure their representation in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Hollier&#8217;s \u200bcampaign is an important step in the \u2063right direction. By\u200d emphasizing his race\u2064 and focusing on the issues that matter most to\u2063 black voters, he \u200dis working \u200bto ensure that their voices are \u200dheard and their concerns are addressed. It is crucial\u2064 for the Democratic Party to recognize the \u200dimportance\u200b of racial representation and to actively support candidates who can effectively advocate \u2064for the needs of\u200c the black community.<\/p>\n<p>However, \u2062Hollier&#8217;s campaign alone is not enough. The Democratic Party as a whole must do better \u2063in reaching \u2062out to and engaging with the black community. It \u2063cannot simply rely on \u2062the black vote during election seasons, but must work to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/simone-malcolm-collins-why-the-world-needs-more-big-families-like-ours-amid-the-population-crisis\/\" title=\"Simone &#038; Malcolm Collins: Why the World Needs More Big Families Like Ours Amid the Population Crisis\">build meaningful relationships<\/a>\u200d and address the \u2063systemic issues that continue to affect black\u200b Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of black Democratic Party representation in Washington is a problem that goes beyond just one\u200c election \u2062cycle. It is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/behaving-like-a-woke-parallel-government-republicans-punch-back-at-corporations-bowing-to-far-left-mobs\/\" title=\"\u2018Behaving Like A Woke Parallel Government\u2019: Republicans Punch Back At Corporations Bowing To \u2018Far-Left Mobs\u2019\">long-standing issue<\/a> that needs to be addressed with\u200b urgency and commitment. The party must prioritize the needs and concerns of the black community and actively work to elect \u2064more black representatives at all\u200d levels of government.<\/p>\n<p>The stakes are high for the Democratic Party in Michigan. Black voters have historically played a crucial role in determining the outcome of elections, and \u200dtheir support is\u200c essential for the \u2063party&#8217;s success. It is time for the party to \u200dacknowledge the challenges faced by the black community and\u2062 to take meaningful action to address them. The fight for victory\u2064 in Michigan begins with\u2063 ensuring that black \u2064voices are heard and black representation is prioritized\u2064 in\u2063 Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan voters hold significant sway in determining the outcome of the 2024 White House race and control of the House and Senate. The Washington Examiner&#8217;s series, Great Stakes: Michigan&#8217;s Battle for Victory, delves into the intricate politics and distinctive factors that will shape this crucial battleground state<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2188917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037119911985-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2188916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037119911985-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2188916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2188917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2188916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2188916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2188916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}