Democratic primary voters ousted Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, nominating a democratic socialist for a deep-blue district in the latest sign of the party’s hunger for new blood.
Mr. Thanedar narrowly lost to Donavan McKinney, a state representative, in the 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of Detroit and its suburbs. The race was called on Wednesday morning.
Both candidates are progressive and support policies like funding universal health care and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But Mr. McKinney, 34, who is Black and grew up in Detroit, has contrasted his background with that of Mr. Thanedar, 71, an Indian immigrant who was elected to Congress in 2022. Mr. Thanedar’s victory that year left Detroit, a city that is roughly three-quarters Black, without a Black representative in Washington for the first time in decades.
The primary also highlighted Democratic voters’ continued backlash against lawmakers who support Israel. Mr. McKinney has condemned the war in Gaza as a “genocide” and campaigned with fellow pro-Palestinian Democrats, including Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate in Michigan’s marquee Senate race. Mr. Thanedar, in contrast, has consistently voted to fund aid for the Jewish state.
While Mr. Thanedar had the endorsement of Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, Mr. McKinney secured the backing of several other members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has spearheaded a string of insurgent Democratic primary victories.
Mr. Thanedar was the latest pro-Israel Democrat to fall to a challenge from the left. This summer, Representatives Diana DeGette of Colorado, Dan Goldman of New York and Adriano Espaillat of New York were all defeated by younger, more progressive challengers who were fueled by strong organization by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Mr. Thanedar, who came to the United States from India in 1979 to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry, has often spoken about his transformation from immigrating “with $20 in my pocket” to buying and owning several companies that “created hundreds of jobs.” He financed his 2022 run for Congress with millions of dollars from his personal fortune.
In Congress, Mr. Thanedar made a name for himself — and earned some private scorn from his colleagues — by routinely introducing articles of impeachment against President Trump and his cabinet members. He promised to do so again if he were re-elected.
Mr. Thanedar has argued that voters in the district were most interested in candidates who could improve their lives, not in their racial backgrounds. “People know my struggles,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in July. “Their focus really is, ‘Solve my problems.’”
Mr. McKinney was recruited to run by Justice Democrats, a group founded in 2017 to promote progressive, working-class challengers to party incumbents. On the campaign trail, Mr. McKinney emphasized his difficult upbringing in Northeast Detroit and skewered Mr. Thanedar for accepting donations from corporate PACs. He also said that deaths of his friends and family from gun violence pushed him to advocate community interventions as a state representative.
Because of the district’s overwhelming Democratic lean, Mr. McKinney is heavily favored to win in November.
Tim Balk contributed reporting.
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