Sunday, July 24, 2011

Conyers in Big Trouble

Others in the media have finally noticed that John Conyers is in big trouble due to redistricting.

John Conyers at mercy of redistricting

The new district that he resides in contains only 20% of his current constituents. While the district is still black-majority, that now includes the suburbs of Southfield and Oak Park which could be less sympathetic to Conyers.

The Conyers brand took a big hit when his wife Monica Conyers went to prison for corruption during her stint on the Detroit city council.

Conyers is now in his 80s, and hasn't had a tough race since he ran for Mayor of Detroit in 1993.

The Politico article lists a bunch of potential candidates, including:
  • Senator Bert Johnson (who has announced that he is running)
  • Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence (who was the democrats' token black candidate for lieutenant governor last year)
  • Attorney and 1998 gubernatorial nominee Geoffrey Feiger
  • Congressman Gary Peters
I had previously concluded that Peters' best chance of staying in Congress is the run against Conyers.

Conyers' best chance of staying in Congress is to run in the new 13th district, in which Hansen Clarke currently resides. The article mentions the possibility of two switching districts. While this probably would benefit both, neither would be safe. Conyers could still be challenged, and Clarke just won a 2010 primary challenge against Carolyn Kilpatrick.

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