The 13th Congressional District has always been more than a collection of neighborhoods. It has been a living, breathing story of resilience, told through the voices of working families, elders on porches, young dreamers, and laborers whose sweat built this city. As a new election season rises over Detroit, two Black men stand ready to carry that story forward, offering visions shaped not by millionaire boardrooms, but by the real struggles that built this city’s soul.
Donavan McKinney, a 32-year-old Democrat and current State Representative for Michigan’s 11th House District, has officially stepped into the ring, launching his campaign for U.S. Congress in the 13th District. His challenge is direct. He’s taking on second-term incumbent Shri Thanedar in a primary that has already exposed a hard truth: Detroit’s most Democratic district deserves leadership that lives the urgency its people are crying out for.
“I’m not running for Congress because I’m a millionaire or a billionaire. I’m running because I’m not,” McKinney said, drawing a line that could not be clearer. “I’m running because our community deserves to have someone fighting back against the Trump-Musk administration who knows our struggles of housing insecurity, of wages that haven’t kept up with the cost of living, of environmental racism, and more — someone who has lived those struggles, and will fight for us with the urgency that this moment demands.”
Detroiters know the difference between someone who shows up for a photo-op and someone who answers the phone at 2 a.m. when a family is facing eviction. McKinney’s campaign, launched with a video that speaks straight to the forgotten heart of Southeastern Michigan, draws from the marrow of that experience. His message is simple: when the rich write policies behind closed doors, it’s the working families of the 13th District who bleed first.
Growing up in Detroit, McKinney lived the realities many elected officials only debate. Chronic coughs from polluted air. Schools stripped of resources. Whole neighborhoods abandoned by policymakers who saw them as numbers, not as neighbors. Those memories fuel his campaign to reverse decades of environmental racism, stop the cycle of corporate exploitation, and protect the dignity of every working family from Detroit to Downriver.
He is not new to the work. As a legislator representing Michigan’s poorest district, with a median income under $20,000, McKinney has fought to deliver real wins. He helped secure more than $10 million for community violence intervention programs, building Michigan’s first statewide CVI network. He brought millions to rec centers and public schools and pushed $600 million toward replacing lead pipes poisoning Detroit’s children. His record is proof that leadership grounded in community experience can move mountains.
As McKinney’s campaign takes root, he’s already backed by a wave of local leaders and grassroots organizations who see the stakes of this election with clear eyes. His endorsements span the district’s diverse tapestry — from State Senators Darrin Camilleri, Stephanie Chang, Veronica Klinefelt, and Paul Wojno, to Detroit Caucus Chair State Representative Stephanie Young, and a host of State Representatives including Erin Byrnes, Kimberly Edwards, Alabas Farhat, Peter Herzberg, Tullio Liberati, Tonya Myers-Phillips, and Veronica Paiz. Former Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash and former Representative Alberta Tinsley-Talabi have also joined the coalition, standing alongside Wayne County Commissioners Alex Garza and Allen Wilson, Wyandotte Mayor Pro Tempore Kelly Stec, Allen Park Councilman Gary Schlack, Wayne-Westland School Board Member Melandie Hines, and Pastor Sterling H. Brewer.
Justice Democrats, the national movement that helped bring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib to Congress, has also placed their weight behind McKinney. That endorsement signals more than national support. It signals a hunger for authentic, working-class leadership at a time when voters across the country are rejecting corporate politicians and demanding real representation.
The contrast with the incumbent is stark. Shri Thanedar, a self-funded multimillionaire who once tried to buy Michigan’s governorship, has poured over $17 million of his own fortune into his political ambitions since 2021. Last year, Thanedar topped every member of the U.S. House of Representatives in taxpayer-funded self-promotion, reimbursing himself nearly half a million dollars from House accounts while spending more than half his Congressional expenses on ads and printing. Most House members spend about 5% on these services. Thanedar spent 50%.
That spending spree is not just about flashy marketing. It reflects a deeper failure in constituent services, where real issues faced by Detroiters have been replaced by billboards and photo shoots. Thanedar’s funding sources add another layer of concern. His campaign has taken contributions from corporate PACs tied to Big Pharma, defense contractors, and utility giants like DTE Energy — companies that profit while Detroit families pay soaring energy bills and face crumbling infrastructure.
McKinney does not mince words about the stakes. He frames Thanedar’s brand of politics as part of the larger Trump-Musk administration agenda that prioritizes billionaires over working families. In a district where environmental racism chokes communities and affordable housing remains a broken promise, the call for urgent, authentic leadership cuts deeper than ever.
McKinney’s platform builds directly from the community’s needs. He is calling for economic security measures that break the back of predatory corporations exploiting Detroiters through high utility bills and unaffordable insurance. He is fighting for clean air and water, so today’s children are not shackled with the chronic health issues that scarred so many lives before them. He pledges to prioritize public education that works for every child, not just those in wealthy zip codes. He is committed to revitalizing public transit to reconnect isolated communities and to strengthening the rights of unions and workers who built this city from the ground up.
At his core, McKinney’s campaign is about lifting the voices that have too often been drowned out by money, influence, and political theater. His push to ban monopoly utilities and government contractors from making political donations speaks to a larger vision of government: one that serves people, not profit.
Tonight, McKinney’s supporters will gather at SAY Detroit Play at Lipke Community Center to celebrate the campaign launch. Friends, neighbors, activists, and elders who have fought too long and too hard for dignity in this city will be there, not as props, but as partners in a movement that demands better — not someday, but now.
McKinney’s candidacy represents something deeper than just another name on a ballot. It is the fight for real representation in a district whose legacy is too powerful to be bought and sold. As this race unfolds, the question facing the 13th District is not whether it will be heard. The question is who will fight to carry its voice to Washington with the urgency, authenticity, and love it deserves.
Because Detroit has always been more than a city. It is a declaration. And come Election Day, the 13th District’s declaration will be heard loud and clear.
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