This is the second of a four part series introducing the candidates running for the 12th Congressional seat.

Karen Jacobsen can remember a time several years back when, as she puts it, “I was not all that politically aware.”

But, like many Americans, she was spurred to interest and eventually to action in 2009, when President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill passed into law.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that (Congress) would pass that bill,” said Jacobsen. “At that point, I had an epiphany: These people don’t work for us anymore.”

Fast-forward to this year, and Jacobsen–a 22-year resident of Dearborn and the co-owner of die-cut company Jacobsen Industries with husband Lee–has thrown her hat in the ring for the Republican nomination in the U.S. House of Representatives race for Michigan’s 12th District.

The newly drawn 12th District encompasses much of southeastern Wayne County, as well as parts of Washtenaw County, including Trenton, Wyandotte, Dearborn, Taylor, Bellville, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, among others.

Jacobsen faces fellow Republican Cynthia Kallgren in the Aug. 7 primaries. But the district’s biggest contender is incumbent John Dingell, who has represented the area for more than 50 years.

A critic of Dingell’s decisions in Congress, Jacobsen said she originally planned to support any candidate running against the long-time Dearborn Democratic lawmaker.

“But where was that candidate?” she asked, which is what spurred her to run.

Of Dingell, Jacobsen said his reputation is great, but his voting record is hurtful to the very area he represents.

“He’s done a lot of local things and ceremonial things,” Jacobsen said. “But the things he’s done in Washington … he’s voting to ruin our country.”

Jacobsen’s top issues of concern are health care, social security, regulations, and national debt. She calls social security her “No. 1 issue against John Dingell.”

“If I were the people of this district, I’d be mad,” she said. “But they don’t know what he’s done.”

And she believes there’s very little time left to reverse the damage that’s been done.

But while the future may include difficult choices in Washington, Jacobsen believes her background in business will help bring the voice of the people to those decisions.

“I’m always going to be a business person,” she said. “I say it the way it is and I don’t stop to do political calculations. I don’t care about politics. I care about fixing the big problems in this country before we go over the edge.”

The grand opening of Jacobsen’s Dearborn office, located at 24148 Michigan Ave., will take place Tuesday, June 26, at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. Or, visit www.karenj2012.com for more information.