From: Detnews.com

Washington – John Dingell, 84, plans to run for a 30th term and extend his reign as the dean of the U.S. House.

“It’s the greatest job in the world,” Dingell, D-Dearborn, said today in acknowledging he’s fund-raising for a 2012 re-election. “I can help people and … make things better, and I represent some of the finest people on earth. The people in southeast Michigan are nothing short of wonderful.” 

With Michigan losing population, the number of House seats will be whittled down from 15 to 14 in 2012. The GOP controls the state Legislature which will have the first crack at drawing up new lines and likely refashioning Dingell’s 15th district.

“I’ve had three bad redistrictings, and I’ve survived every one of them despite predictions to the contrary,” Dingell said.

Dingell, who began his career on Capitol Hill at age 29 when he filled the seat of his father, faced a tougher than usual campaign in 2010 against Rob Steele, a tea party favored Republican. In the end, Dingell pulled out with a 17-point lead.

“We had a very, very nasty campaign against us in which I got death threats, my wife got death threats,” Dingell said. “I don’t mind them for me – I’ve had them for years. … But what does bother me is when they threaten my wife.”

In referencing the Tucson, Ariz., shootings that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Dingell said rhetoric has created “a hideous unproductive climate which I think is very dangerous.”

Dingell is the second Michigan house member to announce a re-election attempt, following Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township.