Dingell family in office for 90+ years: Locals praise pavement-pounding, critics say it indicts incumbency
Rep. Debbie Dingell has held office for a decade, but her family has represented in the same general region of Michigan for almost a century, since Rep. John Dingell Sr. took office in 1933.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, however, Dingell, a Democrat, stressed she is not concerned with the idea she is continuing a record-breaking family legacy but instead the “quality” of work she does in-the-moment for the people in her district.
“I love my husband very much. And I’m proud of my last name. But I have to get up every day and earn the respect of the people that I represent. And I have to deliver for my constituents every day,” Dingell said.
“Most important to me is being a voice in a room and at the table for the people that I represent.”
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Dingell’s own lineage, like her husband’s (Rep. John Dingell Jr.) and father-in-law’s, is also one that epitomizes the area she represents. She is the great-granddaughter of one of the Fisher Brothers – whose Fisher Bodyworks company became an early component of what is now General Motors.
“Home is home to me,” she said. “My district is a very complicated district. [It’s] Mini-America. Downriver (southwest of Detroit) is home – they have a manufacturing legacy, but they have a lot of environmental issues, and I’m really proud of some of the things I did from the moment I stepped into this job.”
Dingell spoke of regularly being on the phone with agencies from FEMA to healthcare, saying she always wants to “talk to people directly” and not politicize pressing issues.
“I don’t have entourages because I don’t believe in them. I love my staff… but I want people to talk to me directly … I go to farmer’s markets every weekend because that’s where [constituents are].”
Dingell supporters point to her willingness to work across the aisle, as the congresswoman said: “We’ve got to respect … [and] listen to each other.”
In the century since Dingell Sr. took office, politics has gotten nastier, or as Dingell put it, “what we’ve lost in the legislative process is trust – people don’t get to know each other anymore.”
National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Meara called Dingell and Dingell Jr. the “hardest-working people” he’s worked with.
“I think in the conservation world, they’re just kind of legendary figures,” he said, noting that Dingell Sr. was a leader in the space as well, drafting the “Dingell-Johnson Act” in 1950 that helped restore sportfishing and continues to be utilized today.
The Dingells were instrumental in the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act and other key laws, he said, adding Dingell has led major cleanup efforts around Michigan while also leading nationally on conservation, including via caucus chairmanships.
O’Meara said that Dingell and her family have been “versatile lawmakers” in a Washington full of “one-trick ponies.”
David Hecker, a former state president of American Federation of Teachers, said Dingell has supported domestic manufacturing, workers’ rights and education issues.
“The congresswoman is everywhere, informing, but moreso listening: to needs and concerns of her constituents and supporting community organizations,” Hecker said.
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Trenton, Mich., Mayor Steve Rzeppa told Fox News Digital that Dingell and Dingell Jr., could not be “bigger fighters” in Congress.
Rzeppa’s earliest political work was in Dingell Jr.’s district office.
“It’s tough to even put into words what you learn working for someone like that,” he said. “It was really more a way of living and serving others than it was a set of certain skills.”
Rzeppa said the political family have been “champions” of the local auto industry, universal healthcare and conservation – recalling them also greeting workers at plants’ shift-change.
Bentley Johnson of the League of Conservation Voters called the Dingells’ district a “fascinating case study” as the home of UAW and heavy-industry workers who were longtime Democrats who have been trending more toward President Donald Trump or independent affiliation.
“In a lot of ways, it’s a microcosm of the country in terms of political polarization. But what is interesting is that we see water and outdoor recreation as classic examples of issues that are top priorities for people across the entire political spectrum,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the Dingells recognize that and that as “problem-solvers,” there is “no situation too complex or politically sticky that they won’t throw themselves into to try and find a solution.”
Local colleges also praised the Dingells’ tenure, with spokespeople for both the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University crediting their support for the institutions.
“Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has been an incredible supporter of Michigan Medicine, and we are fortunate to have someone of her caliber represent our students, faculty, staff and patients,” said Mary Masson, a spokesperson for UMich-Health.
“As a lifelong resident of Ann Arbor and former local elected official, I’ve had the honor of working over many years with Debbie Dingell and, before her, John Dingell,” added Eastern Michigan administrator Leigh Greden.
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“The district has changed a lot over the years… What hasn’t changed between John and Debbie is their omnipresence in the community.”
The lack of change, however, has been something critics of term limits and “dynastic” political families have in turn called out.
Writer Andrew Sullivan previously dove into the “Dingell Dynasty” and cited several critiques of having a family in office that long.
He cited journalist Philip Klein’s take that it is an indictment of incumbency.
“[Dingell Jr.] was re-elected over and over again due to the way congressional districts are drawn up and because incumbents have such a huge money and influence advantage that it creates a barrier to entry for any potential challengers,” he said according to Sullivan.
“The United States was created by a revolution against a monarchy, and yet Americans have had an unhealthy obsession with political dynasties,” added Klein, who noted that at the time, the nation was flirting with dynastic presidencies of Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.
“And seriously, does anybody believe that Caroline Kennedy is the most qualified person in the country to serve as ambassador to Japan?” he wrote.
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Outside The Beltway writer Doug Mataconis said following Dingell’s primary win to succeed her husband, “as a general rule, there is something unhealthy about both political dynasties and long-term incumbency, and the Dingell case provides ample examples of both.”
“Congressional seats such as Dingell’s are made virtually immune from challenge by the opposing party … there is just something distasteful about the fact the same family has held the same congressional seat since Franklin Roosevelt was first elected to the presidency.”
Dingell Jr.’s tenure by itself remains the longest of any member – at 59 years.
Former Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, and Carl Hayden of Arizona, and ex-Rep. Jamie Whitten of Mississippi all served about 50 years as did Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Former Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, served 49.
At the state level, the “Byrd Machine,” led by Democratic Sen. Harry Byrd, famously controlled Virginia’s politics for almost all of the 20th century.
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