Democratic Party’s socialist showdown moves to Detroit

The Aug. 4 Democratic primary in Detroit has emerged as the next battle between the party’s socialist and establishment wings.

Rep. Shri Thanedar, an immigrant from India, faces his toughest challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is riding the momentum of the party’s socialist insurgency and seeking a boost from endorsements by fellow Black Democrats.

“Shri voted to thank ICE while arrests doubled in Detroit,” Mr. McKinney said in a recent social media post, referencing a resolution Mr. Thanedar voted for that thanked immigration enforcement officers. “We need a congressman who will stand up to Trump, not vote with him.”

Mr. McKinney burnished his left-wing bona fides, appearing at a recent rally alongside Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Abdul El-Sayed, a frontrunner for the party’s Senate nomination in Michigan.

Mr. Thanedar is not quite a moderate, but he still faces accusations of being insufficiently progressive.

Mr. Thanedar fought back against the accusation that he worked with Trump.

“No one has fought Trump harder than I have,” he said in a statement to The Washington Times. “I was the first to introduce articles of impeachment, I wrote the bill to end qualified immunity for ICE agents, and the bill to abolish ICE. I wrote impeachment articles against Pam Bondi and joined the effort to impeach Kristi Noem, now both are gone from the cabinet.”

The primary showdown also has racial and ethnic undertones.

“People like Shri Thanedar are the problem. He’s not like us,” Mr. McKinney says in one ad.

Mr. McKinney recently told Detroit News that it “says something” that “the Blackest major city in all America” does not have a Black person representing it in Congress.

“For a lot of people in our district, that is top of mind,” he told the outlet. “They want to see it returned, and they want to see us fulfill the legacy and carry on the torch.”

Mr. Thanedar first won the congressional seat in 2022, narrowly defeating several Black candidates.

In 2024, he bested a Black primary challenger, Mary Waters, who argued the district needed a candidate “who understands the unique needs of African Americans.”

In his statement to The Times, Mr. Thanedar said he fights for Black voters.

“I work closely with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, six members of the CBC have endorsed me, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Benny Thompson. Late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was my mentor,” Mr. Thanedar said.

“I am proud to represent the 78% black city in Detroit,” he added. “Like Detroit, my story is about grit and never giving up. I grew up in dire poverty and built my wealth through small business ownership.”

Recently, Mr. McKinney picked up endorsements from prominent Black Democrats.

Former CBC chairman Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rep. Lateefah Simon of California.

Another former CBC chair, Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, has campaigned for Mr. McKinney.

The Rolling Sea Action Fund, a group that backs Black Democrats, is spending on ads in favor of Mr. McKinney.

Mr. Thanedar has a proven strategy for winning tough Democratic primaries in the past: he spends millions of dollars of his own money.

He has largely self-funded his campaigns, loaning himself almost $9.2 million in his 2022 campaign, and $5.3 million in 2024.

This cycle, Mr. Thanedar has again loaned his campaign millions of dollars and given himself a big advantage over the challenger.

As of mid-July, Mr. Thanedar had more than $5 million cash on hand against Mr. McKinney’s $143,000.

In a recent ad, Mr. McKinney called the incumbent a “multi-millionaire who spent millions to buy a seat in Congress who has more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk than people like us.”