Stevens’ Senate run, criticisms of Thanedar make way for competitive Dem primaries in metro Detroit

The three Michigan U.S. House districts in metro Detroit that are reliably Democratic — the 11th, 12th, and 13th Congressional Districts — are expected to remain that way in the 2026 midterms, but two could have particularly competitive primaries.

In the 11th District, the seat will be without an incumbent, as U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham, who is in her fourth term representing the district, is running for the U.S. Senate. 

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She’s one of two congressional representatives in the state vying for statewide office: John James, who represents Michigan’s 10th District, is leaving the lower chamber to run for governor. James’ decision to leave his seat behind has been controversial, as some thought it could lead to a Democrat flip, but Stevens’ seat is considered a solid Democratic stronghold, meaning the primary will be a key race to watch in 2026.

The other, the 13th District, still has its incumbent in the race, but he does face a unique challenge in his district. U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit is seeking his third term in the seat, but since taking office, he has been the center of a number of controversies, not least of which is his staunch support for Israel. 

His main primary competitor, State Rep. Donavan McKinney, has been endorsed by the more progressive wing of Michigan’s Democratic Party, including neighboring U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib. McKinney has also criticized Thanedar, a multi-millionaire business owner, for being out of touch with his constituents in one of the lowest-income districts nationwide.

Here’s Michigan Advance’s breakdown of the races thus far, the support each candidate has received and fundraising totals as of the last filing deadline on Sept. 30.

Michigan’s 11th Congressional District

Most of Oakland County

Currently held by: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), a 2026 candidate for U.S. Senate

Cook Political Report: Solid Democrat

The Democrats 

Jeremy Moss

Cash on hand: $471,912

Jeremy Moss is a state senator from Bloomfield and is currently the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Michigan Senate. He was Michigan’s first openly gay state Senator, and has made civil rights protections, including reproductive rights, central to his campaign. His campaign website also lists affordability and standing up to Trump as key priorities. He has also been endorsed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her Fight Like Hell PAC.

Whitmer backs Jeremy Moss in campaign for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District

Don Ufford

Cash on hand: $300,159

Don Ufford is a former Ford engineer who then served in a number of government administrative positions, including in the Department of Commerce and the Office of Management and Budget. His campaign website lists affordability, health care access, reshoring jobs and manufacturing, and civil rights as the key issues of the campaign.

Aisha Farooqi

Cash on hand: $72,117

Aisha Farooqi is an attorney, currently working in real estate law but with a background in legal aid, as well as a member of the Michigan Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board. Education and health care access, as well as economic development and prioritizing diplomacy in foreign policy over military action.

Anil Kumar

Cash on hand: $1,882

Anil Kumar is a member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors who ran for the 10th Congressional District in 2024 until he was disqualified from the ballot for signature petitions that Michigan Bureau of Elections staff determined had “clear indications of fraud.” He does not have a campaign website with his name on it, and the only funding his campaign has received thus far was a loan from himself.

Stu Baker

Cash on hand: $0

Stu Baker filed with the Federal Elections Commission, but has no public presence of his campaign online.

John Paul Torres

Cash on hand: $0

John Paul Torres is a Waterford School Board Trustee who launched his Congressional bid at the end of October. He was an Adjunct Professor at Oakland Community College, worked on early discussions for the DREAM Act that established Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the immigration program that created temporary protections for immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, and helped the Michigan Supreme Court implement juvenile justice reforms. 

The Republicans 

Mike Steger

Cash on hand: $13,781

Mike Steger is a political intelligence officer who, according to his website, “helped expose the lies of the neocons and their forever wars in 2003, and the Russia-gate lies against President Trump in 2016.” He also helped found Promethean Action, a pro-Trump PAC, in 2021. His campaign has aligned itself strongly with Trump, putting issues like national security and building local business as top pieces of his platform.

Anthony Paesano

Cash on hand: $0

Anthony Paesano is a corporate lawyer in Bloomfield Hills, as well as an arbitrator before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He ran in 2022 for a seat in the state House of Representatives, which he lost in the general election with about 33 percent of the vote. He does not currently have a campaign website or campaign social media presence.

Antonio Prieto

Cash on hand: $0

Tony Prieto is running an apparent MAGA-friendly campaign, with his promotional Facebook page reading “MAHA / MAGA PET FRIENDLY.” His campaign website also states that he is running on the “Make America Healthy Again” platform popularized by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as other “America First” policies.

Michigan’s 13th Congressional District

Currently held by: Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit)

Cash on hand: $8.31 million

Cook Political Report: Solid Democrat

The Democratic primary here will likely determine who holds the seat come November. Thanedar has represented the district since 2022, after then-incumbent Tlaib was redistricted into the 12th Congressional District. Before his time in Congress, he spent one term in the Michigan State House of Representatives. He ran for governor in 2018, losing in the primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

A number of controversies led to that loss, including allegations that he abandoned laboratory testing dogs and monkeys at a lab, which he denies. Thanedar is running for re-election but is facing a significant primary competition. He has faced criticisms over his strong support of Israel, as well as his decision to file articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in April, which he cancelled a vote on after it was denounced by party leadership.

The Democrats

Donavan McKinney

Cash on hand: $289,568

Donavan McKinney is a representative in the Michigan House, where he has served representing parts of Detroit since being elected in 2022. He announced his candidacy for Congress in April and has gained the endorsement of Tlaib in the neighboring 12th District. His campaign priorities include a universal basic income and support for union jobs, as well as affordable housing and health care. He also advocates for getting big money out of politics, including a dig at Thanedar, calling him “our multimillionaire Congressman who bought this seat with his own money.”

Nazmul Hassan

Cash on hand: $1,079

Dr. Naz Hassan is an industrial engineer who, according to his LinkedIn, currently works for General Motors, a background that his campaign says gives him “a common-sense, data-informed approach” to public policy. His website says that he will not take any PAC money in the campaign, and lists access to health care and housing as among his top priorities. As an immigrant from Bangladesh himself, he also has made support for immigrants and a legal pathway to citizenship a priority.

Field shaping up in Michigan’s contested U.S. Senate race

Shelby Campbell

Cash on hand: $0

Shelby Campbell is a self-described labor advocate, community organizer and cannabis ally, who has branded her campaign heavily with imagery from Campbell’s Soup, so much so that she was sued by the company in October and settled earlier this month to stop using any imagery associated with the brand. She still leans into the branding, signing off her biography on her website as “Shelby Soup.” Her campaign priorities include support for unions and labor rights, as well as tuition-free community college and public university education.

The Republican

Andrew Lorenz

Cash on hand: $0

Andrew Lorenz is a Marine Corps veteran who served for 12 years and did three tours overseas. He is also a single father who has made fighting the opioid crisis and support for veterans two central issues of his campaign. His campaign website also lists parental rights in education and an end to “pointless wars” as priorities.

The Green Party 

Etta Wilcoxon

Cash on hand: $0

D. Etta Wilcoxon is the sole Green Party candidate running for this race. She first ran for this same seat in 2024, but was disqualified, according to Ballotpedia. She has been a public school teacher and a professor at the University of Detroit Law School and Wayne County Community College, and in 2021, ran against incumbent Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in a nonpartisan election where she earned just over 1 percent of the vote. She does not have any public campaign webpage or social media for this election.