Debbie Dingell Poised to Make Congressional History
Debbi Dingell, wife of Congressman John Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history who recently announced he will not be seeking reelection, discusses the announcement she made earlier this morning that she will run for his seat on February 28, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesThe number of women in Congress reached 100 with the swearing-in of North Carolina Representative Alma Adams this month, and that's not the only milestone for female lawmakers in the wake of the 2014 midterm elections: Democrat Debbie Dingell's win in Michigan's 12th Congressional District marks the first time in electoral history that a non-widowed female candidate will directly succeed her husband in the House or Senate, according to the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Her husband, Representative John Dingell, is retiring in January after nearly 30 terms in the House.