Michigan’s 13th Congressional District

A Voter’s Guide to the 13th Congressional Race

Candidates Democrat John Conyers and Republican Jeff Gorman

Melissa Mason

Libertarian Tiffany Hayden and Working Class candidate Sam Johnson will also be on the ballot.

Democratic Incumbent John Conyers

Congressman Conyers has served 26 consecutive terms on Congress, and was the first African-American Dean of Congress. He is also a founding member and the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

Conyers’s Campaign Website 

Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepJohnConyers

Republican Jeff Gorman

Gorman is conservative Republican who describes himself as “pro-life”, and against the DREAM Act. Gorman says he accepts civil unions between gay couples, but doesn’t support making religious groups perform gay marriages. He is a retired Navy pilot from Garden City.

Gorman’s Campaign Website

Libertarian Tiffany Hayden

Hayden says she believes in smaller government, more freedom, and fewer taxes. She calls herself an advocate for maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state. 

Hayden’s Campaign Website

Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @haydentiff

Working Class Party candidate Sam Johnson

Johnson was born in Alabama and lived in Detroit in 1967. He worked at the Chrysler plant, and started the Working Class Party in 2014 with the four other candidates who ran in the election under the slogan “For a Working Class Fight, for  Working Class Policy.”

Johnson’s Campaign Website

About the Voters

Population 693,926
Age Distribution: 18-34 23.7%
Age Distribution: 35-59 33.2%
Age Distribution: 60+ 18.1%
Male 47.7%
Female 52.3%
Race

White: 37.4%
Black: 56.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.4%
Asian: 1.2%
Some other race: 2.6%
Two or more: 2.4%
Hispanic or Latino: 6.7%

Foreign-born 6.3%
Education Level

Less than high school graduate: 19.2%
High school graduate: 33.7%
Some college or associate’s degree: 33.4%
Bachelor’s degree: 8.8%
Graduate or professional degree: 4.9%

 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey,
2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Previous Congressional Election Results 

2014 General Election 

Jeff Gorman (R) – 16.31%

John Conyers Jr. (D) – 79.49%

2012 General Election

Harry Sawicki (R) 13.64%

John Conyers Jr. (D) – 82.79%

 

WDET’s Coverage of the 13th Congressional District

Libertarian Candidate Hayden Takes On Conyers

Longest-Serving Member of U.S. House Takes on Reluctant Republican

 

Wayne State University Communication Students Clara Ruffin and Chester Fleming contributed to this coverage.

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