Dearborn businessman challenges Elissa Slotkin for Senate bid

Nasser Beydoun, a small businessman and restaurateur from Dearborn, has filed to run as a Democrat for the seat currently occupied by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is stepping down after next year's election.

As such, Beydoun becomes one of the first Democrats to challenge U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, who has so far cleared the field of any widely known candidates to run for the open seat. Another Democrat, lawyer Zack Burns of Ann Arbor, also recently filed to run.

Speaking to the Free Press on Monday, Beydoun, 58, who said he has experience as an activist and longstanding ties with southeastern Michigan and its Arab-American community, said Slotkin "has to overcome a lot of her history ... when it comes to communities of color."

Asked what he meant specifically, Beydoun mentioned a column by educator, lawyer and former congressional candidate Michael Griffie published recently in the Free Press. That column noted Slotkin hadn't signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation considered important by many Black Michiganders, including that calling for policing reform, marijuana decriminalization and a commission to study reparations, though she ultimately voted for all three.

More: Debbie Stabenow talks about 'suiting up' to represent Michigan and why she's stepping down

Slotkin won a race against former state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, in last year's midterm in a newly drawn congressional district that was widely considered a tossup. It turned out to be one of the most expensive U.S. House races in the country.

Beydoun said he plans to have a campaign kickoff at 11 a.m. Wednesday at a Marathon Gas Station on West McNichols Road in Detroit.

"I’m not beholden to anybody and I’ve basically been right on the issues as it pertains to civil rights, human rights, workers' rights and women’s rights," said Beydoun, who has started several businesses including District 12 Restaurants in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights.

He has also worked with the Arab American Civil Rights League and served as co-chair of a group working to address concerns between federal law enforcement and Michigan's Arab-American and Middle Eastern communities.

Taking the fight to Slotkin, who is known for being an adept campaigner who leaves little to chance, will be no small matter for any challenger. She already enjoys a national profile and has begun making inroads in Detroit proper, which she hasn't represented before.

A former acting assistant Defense Department secretary and former intelligence official for both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, Slotkin has won three tough congressional elections, the first two in districts that also voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. She has also staked out a reputation as something of a moderate — though she has been a reliable Democratic vote throughout her congressional career — and as a prodigious fundraiser.

As of the last reporting period at the end of March, Slotkin had raised more than $3 million for her Senate bid. Beydoun said he had approximately $100,000 raised through an exploratory committee.

Contact Todd Spangler: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Elissa Slotkin gets a US Senate challenger in Dearborn businessman