High Profile Democrat Loses Re-election Bid

A high-profile Democratic congressman just learned the hard way that, in today’s Democratic Party, being aggressively anti-Trump is no longer enough.

Rep. Shri Thanedar lost his re-election bid Tuesday in Michigan’s heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District, falling to state Rep. Donavan McKinney in a bruising primary that sent another clear message to the party establishment.

Move left, or move out.

According to NBC News, McKinney defeated Thanedar 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent.

That is not a landslide, but it is more than enough to end a congressional career.

And this was not some quiet backbencher getting caught asleep at the wheel. Thanedar had spent four years building a national profile, embracing major Democratic causes, attacking President Donald Trump, and making sure nobody confused him with a moderate.

He tried to impeach Trump again.

He pursued action against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

He backed expansive abortion rights.

He even introduced legislation to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That is a fairly impressive checklist for anyone hoping to win the approval of the Democratic left.

Apparently, the checklist was outdated.

However, Democratic voters in the Detroit-area district decided Thanedar still had not gone far enough. They replaced him with a challenger backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and running on a platform that included Medicare for All, criminal justice reform, ending military aid to Israel, and taking on Trump.

So the district traded one deeply progressive congressman for another who comes with even stronger activist credentials.