A Michigan state lawmaker is looking to join the ranks among the most left-leaning House Democrats and oust a fellow Democratic representative currently occupying the seat.
Democratic Michigan State Rep. Donavan McKinney announced Monday he is running for Michigan’s 13th House district against Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar in a primary election before the 2026 midterms. Donovan has the backing of Justice Democrats, an advocacy group that helped elect members of the far-left coalition of House Democrats known informally as “the squad.”
“This campaign isn’t about me — it’s about all of us deserving a Democratic Party that can actually fight back against [President] Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the billionaire 1% that are picking our pockets to line their own,” McKinney’s campaign website reads.
We are so proud to announce our first new candidate of the cycle: @DonavanMI13 in #MI13!
Donavan represents the future Democrats should be fighting for: working class people taking our power back from multimillionaires to deliver for everyday people.
Always with the people. pic.twitter.com/X4uZ03X6VK
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) April 28, 2025
The website puts “raising taxes on billionaires and corporations” and “universal basic income” near the top of McKinney’s policy platform, followed by several sections focused on promoting the climate-focused “Green New Deal,” ending cash bail for criminal defendants and expanding federal funding for abortion among other core issues for leftists.
Justice Democrats rose to prominence in the 2024 elections after trying — and failing — to keep pro-Israel Democrats from unseating “squad” members over their Israel-Hamas war stances. Former Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri lost their primaries despite support from the group after pro-Israel groups supported their challengers with millions of dollars.
Thanedar won reelection in November after receiving an endorsement from one such group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In looking to oust Thanedar, who is 70 according to his congressional biography, Mckinney, who is 32, joins a growing trend of younger Democratic candidates seeking to take over congressional seats from older members of the party.
Justice Democrats is now on the offensive against Thanedar, saying its candidate will fight to “get big money out of politics” in Washington. McKinney’s platform says he will fight to ensure Congress doesn’t “keep funding human rights violations and war crimes” without naming any particular military conflict.
Justice Democrats did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Michigan’s politics have seen mixed results in recent months, with Trump winning the state in November while Democrats largely control the state government under Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Amid McKinney’s announcement, Thanedar on Monday filed seven articles of impeachment against Trump over his alleged attacks on “the rule of law” through various policies. Lawmakers impeached Trump twice over actions during his first presidency but never convicted him.
Thanedar’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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