Thanedar staves off Dem challengers in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District primary

In Michigan’s 13th Congressional Primary, U.S Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) has secured the Democratic nomination and will move forward to the November ballot where he is favored to win the heavily Democratic district. 

Thanedar secured the seat in 2022 and is on track for a rematch with Martell Bivings, who was the sole Republican on the primary ballot. 

The Associated Press called the race for Thanedar at 2:12 a.m. Wednesday. As of 8:20 a.m., he leads Detroit City Council Member Mary Waters and Attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins with more than 55% of the vote, with 77% of votes counted. Waters received 34% while Hawkins received 11%.

“I want to thank my opponents for running and participating in the democratic process,” Thanedar said at his election night party in Detroit. “I thank U.S. House Democratic Leadership for endorsing me, as well as the unions and groups that supported my campaign. Now, I’m looking forward to helping Vice President Kamala Harris and [her running mate, Minnesota] Gov. Tim Walz win Michigan so we can do even more for my constituents.”

Michigan’s 13th District includes part of Detroit, and other Wayne County communities including the Grosse Pointe communities, Harper Woods, Hamtramck, Highland Park, River Rouge, Allen Park, Taylor and Romulus.

Since Thanedar’s election in 2022, Black representation for Detroit has been a continued discussion as 2023 marked the first year the city had been without Black representation in Congress since 1955. Thanedar is an immigrant from India, and Detroit’s other incumbent U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), is Palestinian American. Tlaib was unopposed in her primary in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District and easily won Tuesday night. 

In a previous interview with the Advance, Waters emphasized that Black representation for Michiganders is very important. 

“We’ve got to have somebody there who understands the unique needs of African Americans. Because we do have some unique needs — some of the things that we should be fighting for, when it comes to voting rights, for example,” Waters said.

Waters earned the endorsement of the UAW and several metro Detroit leaders, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

Thanedar has also been criticized by local and state leaders, like Duggan, who said he was not responsive to the community’s needs.

“Everywhere I go, constituents always come up to me and tell me how my office helped them get their tax returns, sort out their VA benefits, get in touch with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], etc. That is a testament to my team and I couldn’t be prouder of all their hard work and how effective we are in serving our constituents,” Thanedar said Tuesday.

The freshman congressman noted he served as ranking member of the Small Business and Homeland Security subcommittees and sponsored and cosponsored more than 520 bills.

Thanedar also said he’s brought money “back to the district,” citing  $342 million for infrastructure projects and $15 million for community projects throughout the district for workforce development, infrastructure upgrades, surviving extreme weather events, and more. 

“I’m especially thankful that I was able to bring federal dollars to municipalities that haven’t received federal money in decades,” he said.