Debbie Dingell looks to succeed her husband

Democratic power player Debbie Dingell officially launched her bid for her retiring husband’s congressional seat on Friday.

“John Dingell is irreplaceable. But my drive to serve the people of this great state has led me here today,” Debbie Dingell wrote in an email to supporters. “I think we need more women at the table in politics and I am excited to show the voters just what we can do together.”

The Hill reported on Tuesday that Dingell would run for her Rep. John Dingell’s (D-Mich.) seat, as she’s been expected to do for years once the longtime member decided to retire. First elected in 1955, her husband is the longest-serving congressman in U.S. history.

Dingell begins the race as the heavy front-runner for the solidly Democratic district. She has been active in Democratic politics both in Michigan and Washington, D.C., for decades, and is a Democratic National Committee member, chairwoman of the Wayne State University Board of Governors and a former head of the General Motors Foundation.

If she wins, Dingell would continue an eight-decade streak of Dingells holding the seat. John Dingell’s father, Rep. John Dingell, Sr. (D-Mich.), held the seat for two decades, beginning in 1933. She’d also be the first woman to ever immediately succeed her still-living husband.