Longtime Detroit Congressman John Conyers quashed any speculation that he’s planning to retire.
On Monday, the 86-year-old announced he’ll seek a 27th term in the U.S. House.
Conyers is now the longest-serving member of Congress, a civil rights icon, and the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
Conyers says there’s still critical work to be done on voting rights and criminal justice reform.
“We’ve got to win,” he told supporters in Detroit Monday. “And that’s why any talk of me stepping down after next year … we’ve got to have a victory.”
Conyers says his experience is valuable as the country and world enters “a dangerous year.”
Detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey has said she’ll challenge Conyers in the heavily-Democratic 13th Congressional District.
