Rep. Hansen Clarke Of Detroit Kicking Off Congress Run

DETROIT (AP) - U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke of Detroit is kicking off his campaign for re-election to Congress.

The freshman Democrat plans to appear at a campaign kick-off party Friday evening at the Detroit Historical Museum.

Clarke currently represents Michigan's 13th District, but is running in the newly redrawn 14th District.

There, he'll face a crowded field in the primary, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters of Oakland County's Bloomfield Township, Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence and former state Rep. Mary Waters of Detroit.

Republicans redrew the congressional lines for 2012 after Michigan lost a seat due to shrinking population, putting Peters in the same district as longtime Democratic incumbent Sander Levin.

Instead of opposing Levin, Peters decided to run in the redrawn 14th District, which stretches from Detroit to Pontiac.

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