Glenn Anderson to run for Congress

State Sen. Glenn Anderson (D-Westland) will announce tomorrow morning that he is running for Congress in 2012.

Anderson served in the state House from 2001 until his election to the state Senate in 2006. Before that, he served nine years on the Westland City Council. Anderson worked at Ford starting in 1972 (where he joined the UAW) and is also a licensed Realtor.

If Anderson is elected to Congress, it won't be the first time he's pulled off such an upset. In order to win his election to the Senate in 2006, Anderson had to defeat an incumbent, Laura Toy. Anderson and Jim Barcia are the only two Democrats in the past 21 years (perhaps longer) to win a Republican-held State Senate seat. Renowned political analyst Peter Bratt called Anderson's 2006 campaign "one of the best I've seen in Michigan politics."

Anderson will run in the 11th District for the seat currently held by Thaddeus McCotter. No word yet on whether McCotter plans to run for re-election, but another Republican - State Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) - is running. Like the old 11th, the new 11th is not the friendliest for Democrats, but in the old 11th, McCotter only won by 6% in 2008 against a little-known Democrat. Said Democrat, Joseph Larkin, actually won the Wayne County portion of the district.

Anderson is a well-respected, tenacious, blue-collar Democrat who knows how to win and of whom we can all be proud. Republicans have a huge fight on their hands.