Preliminary results indicate Mari Manoogian, a descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, has won the Democratic primary for the Michigan State House of Representatives’ 40th District. Manoogian defeated Nicole Bedi with 53% of the vote, The Armenian Weekly reports.

“I’m so thrilled about the way our team performed over the past few weeks,” Manoogian said. “We turned up door knocking to reach all the voters in our district. We knocked on over 16,500 doors and reached thousands of voters. I’m so incredibly proud. It’s an honor to be the Democratic nominee.”

Manoogian will face off against fellow Birmingham resident and Republican candidate David Wolkinson in the November general election for the state’s 40th House District seat held by outgoing Rep. Mike McCready (R-Birmingham), who is term-limited.

Manoogian is a native of Birmingham, Michigan and graduate of George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. While in college, she interned for then-Congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. After graduation, Mari worked in the Office of English Language Programs at the U.S. Department of State.

Manoogian is a great-grandchild of survivors of the Armenian Genocide from Sepastia and Keghi on her mother’s side, and Yerzinga and Keghi on her father’s side. Manoogian attended the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) Zavarian Armenian language school in Troy, Mich. for 10 years. She also participated in the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary summer conferences and was active in the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF)