By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-08-06 10:21:52 | Updated at 2026-08-06 12:23:41
2 hours ago
Rep. Shri Thanedar’s attempt to escape his socialist past may not be enough to save his seat, as a Bernie Sanders-backed Democratic Socialist appeared poised to defeat the Detroit congressman in Michigan’s Democrat primary. Thanedar entered Tuesday’s contest as the underdog against state Rep. Donavan McKinney, despite spending millions of dollars to protect his position. Polling and prediction markets showed the race moving sharply toward the challenger in its final days.
The August 4th primary placed Thanedar, a two-term Democrat representing Michigan’s heavily blue 13th Congressional District, against a candidate supported by some of the most prominent socialist politicians in Washington. McKinney received endorsements from Sanders, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Rep. Ilhan Omar. He was also selected as the first candidate endorsed by “Justice Democrats” during the current election cycle.
Thanedar once belonged to the Democratic Socialists of America himself, but publicly renounced his membership in October 2023. The congressman said at the time that the organization had failed to adequately condemn Hamas following the October 7th terrorist attack against Israel. Nearly three years later, the same socialist organization he abandoned was backing the campaign aimed at removing him from Congress.
As Breitbart News reported, a Data for Progress survey conducted in mid-July initially showed Thanedar leading McKinney by four points, 46% to 42%. That advantage disappeared when voters were shown personal information about the two candidates. After receiving those details, respondents favored McKinney by a 48-41 margin.
Prediction markets painted an even worse picture for the incumbent. One day before voting began, the markets gave McKinney roughly an 87% chance of winning the primary. Thanedar also appeared to be receiving little assistance from his congressional colleagues as the possibility of an embarrassing defeat grew.
Thanedar dismissed concerns about his standing among other Democrats when asked about the apparent lack of support. “It’s not like a high school,” the congressman said. “I’m not trying to be the most popular member of Congress.” His response came as the Democratic Socialists of America and allied NGO’s continued concentrating their resources behind McKinney.
The 34-year-old challenger grew up poor in Detroit and has campaigned on a platform that includes Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and ending American military assistance to Israel. Those positions helped McKinney attract the support of Sanders and members of the far-left “Squad.” They also allowed him to present the race as a fight between a grassroots socialist movement and a wealthy incumbent capable of financing his own campaign.
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“This election is about the many versus the money,” McKinney said. Thanedar, who immigrated to the United States from India in 1979, worked as a janitor before building a fortune as a pharmaceutical executive. He entered the final stretch of the campaign with approximately $4.7 million available and had loaned his campaign more than $2 million during the election cycle, including another $800,000 in June.
McKinney had raised approximately $1.3 million over the same period and entered the closing weeks with roughly $264,000 on hand. The difference in funding did little to prevent the challenger from gaining ground. Thanedar rejected suggestions that his personal spending or fundraising left him beholden to wealthy corporate interests, instead pointing to his opposition to President Donald Trump.
“There’s nobody fighting harder than me against Trump,” Thanedar said. His anti-Trump record apparently failed to generate much enthusiasm among the socialist activists determined to replace him with one of their own. The district’s electorate is approximately 78% Democrat, leaving the winner of the primary heavily favored to capture the congressional seat in November.
