A Dearborn businessman and civil rights advocate is launching a bid for the U.S. Senate.
Democrat Nasser Beydoun wants to replace Michigan’s senior U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow when she retires at the end of her current term.
Beydoun is a small business owner who’s worked with the Arab American Civil Rights League and groups that tried to bridge differences between law enforcement and Middle Eastern communities.
He argues that gives him the experience to fight for those whose voices often go unheard on Capitol Hill.
“I feel that America has lost the vision that the middle class is built on: good-paying jobs and small business. And there’s nobody really representing that segment of people in Congress or in the Senate today," he said.
Beydoun says Congress needs to do a better job of serving the nation’s middle-class who want safe neighborhoods, good schools and a clean environment.
“They want government to get out of their way, and government to be fair. And one of the problems in government today … it’s not fair. It’s skewed towards special interests, corporate interests. And it kind of leaves the average American behind.”
Beydoun faces a strong opponent in the primary in Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. She has already built a strong base of support and received a significant amount of funding for her senatorial bid.