WASHINGTON — Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones made it official Wednesday morning that she'll run for Congress again, trying to knock off U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

Jones' campaign released a 3½-minute video recorded at her home in which she said she was running for "re-election" in Michigan's 13th Congressional District, which covers much of Detroit as well as parts of western Wayne County and Downriver.

"My candidacy is based on hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, hope for our children, hope for our families and hope for the hopeless," said Jones, who last week filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee indicating she planned to run again.

A spokesman for Tlaib's campaign, Denzel McCampbell, said the congresswoman "looks forward to running a strong campaign and winning re-election regardless of who is on the ballot." He said at the moment she is focused on addressing the coronavirus pandemic and addressing threats to residents and the local economy.

Two years ago Jones, who has been a member of Detroit City Council since 2005, lost a close race to Tlaib, a former state representative and civil rights attorney, for the Democratic nomination to a full two-year term in a district previously represented by the late U.S. Rep. John Conyers.

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Jones' argument that she is running for re-election comes from the fact that she defeated Tlaib in that same balloting for the nomination to a five-week stint in Congress, filling out the brief remainder of Conyers' term, which was unexpired. In a predominantly Democratic district, both went on to win election to the seat easily.

She told the Free Press on Wednesday morning that she has been getting calls and letters from supporters urging her to run, including from some of the other candidates who ran against her and Tlaib two years ago. Over the weekend, one of them, former state Sen. Ian Conyers, John Conyers' grandnephew, said on Twitter her entry into the race was "great news" for the district.

She pointed to the 35 days she spent in Congress at the end of 2018 as proof she knows what she is doing and is the best candidate.

"I look at bringing home resources to the district," she said. "I look at unifying the district."

She declined to speak against Tlaib directly, however. Asked whether she thought Tlaib was divisive, Jones demurred, saying instead, "What I feel is it's important to connect all of the people in the district, regardless of what color they are, what age they are, what job they do." She said that support extends to people who work for small businesses and corporations.

Jones is African American and has a long record working in the city. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, has been at the center of several controversies because of comments she has made regarding Israel and President Donald Trump. Tlaib also has long been an advocate of demanding concessions from businesses and corporations as a way to help residents.

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The race will no doubt be closely watched as speculation was high in 2018 that had the field running for the nomination to the full two-year term been smaller, Jones, who enjoyed institutional support including the backing of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, could have won. Six people were on the ballot for the full term that year.

As of now, Jones is the only well-known candidate running against Tlaib.

"When there are less candidates, I think have a really, really excellent chance" of winning, she said.

Defeating Tlaib won't be easy, however.

During her time in office, she has raised her profile immensely, becoming a foil for Trump and a surrogate for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in his run for the Democratic nomination for president. She has also shown herself able to raise large sums of money in the past and, as the incumbent, would be unlikely to face the same level of open opposition from establishment Democrats as she did in 2018.

Contact Todd Spangler attspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.