U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar on Wednesday welcomed state Rep. Donavan McKinney into his D.C. office after the two-term Congressman was defeated by the Detroit lawmaker during the Aug. 4 primary.
“I invited Donavan McKinney to my DC office and sat down to plan a smooth transition. I offered full cooperation including transfer of any unresolved case work as of Jan 2nd,” Thanedar said on social media. “I and my staff answered his questions. We will continue this collaboration as often as his team needs.”
Thanedar posted photos with McKinney and his staff outside of his office inside the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Thank you for your service to the #Mighty13th. Excited to work together for a smooth transition,” McKinney said in response to Thanedar’s post.
McKinney’s win restores Black leadership to the 13th Congressional District. In 2022, Thanedar, an Indian American, ended Detroit’s 70-year streak of Black representation in Congress.
The two fought hard during the lead-up to the Aug. 3 primary election. Thanedar accused McKinney of taking dark money and lying to his supporters about his progressive ideology. McKinney’s campaign called Thanedar “Detroit’s own Elon Musk.” In an ad, McKinney brought back old allegations against Thanedar he let dogs die in a facility he owned. Thanedar has denied the claims.
After the Aug. 3 primary, Thanedar released a statement congratulating McKinney: “I want to congratulate Representative Donavan McKinney on a hard fought race. It was a tough election cycle and, in the end, the voters of the 13th District chose him to represent them moving forward,” Thanedar said. “It was the honor of my life to represent the 13th District in the United States Congress. I’m proud of all the work we did, from solving over 4300 constituent cases, to securing $45 million in funding for projects in every single part of the district, to leading the fight against Trump and his administration. I look forward to serving out the remainder of my term and wish Representative McKinney the best.”
McKinney’s campaign called Thanedar “the problem” with American politics, accusing the second-term Congressman of buying his seat. McKinney has said he wants to bring “economic security” to the district and fight back against utility corporations, insurance giants and corporate real estate developers.
The race between Thanedar and McKinney is one Detroit voters saw before in a state house contest six years ago.
The two faced each other in the 2020 Democratic primary for the 3rd State House District. Thanedar won the primary with 34% of the vote (4,745 votes), while McKinney came second with 20% (2,771 votes).
McKinney has been an active member of the House and Detroit’s legislative delegation since he entered the Legislature in 2022. So has Thanedar during his tenure in Congress, frequently introducing progressive legislation and resolutions like abolishing ICE or impeaching President Trump.
Thanedar had support of establishment figures such as U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), while McKinney had the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
Michigan’s 13th Congressional District is comprised of part of Detroit and its suburbs, including Allen Park, Hamtramck, Romulus and Wyandotte.
McKinney was among a number of Detroit officials who traveled to Washington D.C. for the annual Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference.
Pictured at the conference on social media images include Tlaib, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, City Council member Denzel McCampbell and state Rep. Tonya Meyers Phillips.
