Donavan McKinney defeats Shri Thanedar in Michigan primary

McKinney’s win is another victory for the progressive insurgency toppling incumbent Democratic lawmakers.

Michigan state assemblyman and democratic socialist Donavan McKinney is projected to defeat Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th District. 

Propelled by endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed, McKinney played up his Detroit roots during the campaign and in a video accused Thanedar of having “more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk than people like us.” 

In a statement on Wednesday, McKinney celebrated his victory, noting Thanedar’s backing by the crypto industry and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“Today, we showed why being always with the people is more than a slogan — it’s a roadmap for the Democratic Party on how to move forward to defeat the fascism and divisiveness harming our country, and to deliver the leadership the Mighty 13th deserves,” McKinney said. 

Thanedar said Wednesday that he had called McKinney to congratulate him and offer his “full cooperation and a smooth transition.” Since the district is solidly Democratic, the winner of this week’s primary is virtually guaranteed to win the general election in November. 

Thanedar has represented the Detroit district since 2023. Born in poverty in India, he came to the U.S. in his 20s, earned a Ph.D. in chemistry and became an entrepreneur and a millionaire who could fund his own political campaigns. 

But Thanedar’s tenure in Congress has been marred by staff turnover and allegations of excessive vanity, as well as grumbling that at least one of Detroit’s two House districts ought to be represented by an African American. (The other is represented by Rashida Tlaib, a fellow Democrat who endorsed McKinney and recently called Thanedar an “idiot.”)

The contest was another clash between the Democratic establishment and the progressive insurgency that’s felled several other incumbent Democrats, though there are some wrinkles. Thanedar is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and had the backing of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). But other sitting Democrats endorsed McKinney, including Tlaib and several members of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

McKinney is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization Thanedar abandoned over its expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. McKinney  criticized Thanedar for being the favored candidate of the AIPAC, which has seen its brand toxify among Democratic voters who are opposed to Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza. 

Pressed on allegations he hasn’t done enough for the district and is out of touch with its majority Black electorate, Thanedar insisted he’s popular among his constituents. 

“I meet hundreds and hundreds of people every time I go out,” Thanedar said in a recent interview this week with a Detroit TV station. “A woman I met yesterday told me, ‘You helped my sister get qualified for Social Security. Thank you for what you do.’ Everywhere I go, people walk up to me and say thank you for helping us.”