State Rep. Donavan McKinney beat incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) for the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
McKinney, who was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, garnered 52% of the vote to Thanedar’s 48% when the Associated Press called the race on Wednesday morning.
Michigan’s 13th Congressional District is heavily Democratic, and the primary victor faces only token opposition from Republicans in November. The seat, which covers large swaths of Detroit and its suburbs, voted for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by 41 percentage points over President Donald Trump in 2024.
Thanedar, an Indian American, was first elected to represent the majority-minority seat in 2022 after multiple black candidates split black support. Thanedar won the primary with just 28% of the vote, leaving Detroit without a black representative for the first time in more than 50 years. A similar dynamic unfolded in 2024 when Thanedar faced opposition from two black primary challengers.
This year, McKinney was the only black candidate running against Thanedar. McKinney was endorsed by high-profile progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). Thanedar, meanwhile, had the backing of establishment figures such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
The race was closely watched as a test of whether the DSA could expand beyond its traditional base of predominantly white, college-educated progressive voters. Most of the organization’s congressional successes this cycle have come in districts anchored by that constituency, particularly in New York and Colorado.
DSA LEADERSHIP PLANS FOR A 2028 NATIONWIDE GENERAL STRIKE: A ‘PERFECT STORM’ FOR ORGANIZING
A poll commissioned by the Detroit News and WDIV Local 4 found that, on average, black voters were less likely to support socialism than white voters in Michigan. The poll found socialist policies being especially popular among college-educated white Democrats.
Thanedar was a member of the DSA until 2023, when he left the organization for its refusal to denounce Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks. Yet, in Congress, Thanedar has focused more on impeaching Trump than spreading socialism.