Democratic power player Debbie Dingell will run for her husband’s congressional seat and announce her campaign on Friday, a source close to the Dingells tells The Hill.
“She is going to announce her candidacy on Friday. The announcement will be made in the district and we’ll let people know the time and place in a day or two,” the source said.
{mosads}Dingell’s husband, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), announced he will retire on Monday, ending the longest tenure of any lawmaker in congressional history. The Hill reported Monday afternoon that his wife was likely to run for his seat.
A Democratic National Committee member, chairwoman of the Wayne State University Board of Governors and former head of the General Motors Foundation, she has been active in Democratic politics both in Michigan and Washington, D.C., for decades.
Dingell has close ties to Democrats both in the district and the Beltway, as well as with the unions that still hold strong sway in the state’s Democratic primaries. She is also almost three decades younger than her 87-year-old husband and is known as a tireless campaigner.
She will be the heavy favorite for her husband’s seat. Democratic and union power brokers were already coming up to Dingell after her husband’s retirement announcement on Monday to tell her they’d back her if she runs, according to sources at the event.
If Dingell wins, she’d keep the district the family has held in some form since 1933. Her husband became the longest serving member in congressional history last year, hitting the 58-year mark in 2013. His father, former Rep. John Dingell Sr. (D-Mich.), held the same seat for more than two decades before that. His son succeeded him after the elder Dingell’s death in 1955.
The Washington Post first reported that Dingell would definitely run for Congress.