NEWS & MEDIA

MI State Rep. Donavan McKinney launches Democratic primary challenge against Detroit’s Elon Musk, multimillionaire Congressman Shri Thanedar 

DETROIT, MI — Donavan McKinney, Democrat State Representative for Michigan’s 11th State House District, launched his campaign for U.S. Congress today in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. Rep. McKinney is challenging current second-term, multimillionaire Congressman Shri Thanedar in the Democratic primary election. He’s fighting to deliver working class representation to Michigan’s most Democratic district, that brings the urgency its voters are demanding — and failing to get from their current, out-of-touch, ultra-wealthy Congressman, Detroit’s own Elon Musk. 

“I’m not running for Congress because I’m a millionaire or a billionaire. I’m running because I’m not. 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,” said McKinney. “I’m running for Congress so that you will never have to wonder if your Congressman is fighting for you in Washington. You know I will be — and I will always answer the phone for our community, for our kids, for all of us.” 

Rep. McKinney’s announcement was accompanied by a launch video that was a testament to the people of Southeastern Michigan who are the first to be forgotten by bought-and-paid for politicians and their corporate backers, while detailing his commitment to fight back against the Trump-Musk administration with the urgency of someone who has lived through the same struggles that people of this community live through every day. 

McKinney, who is 32 years old, is running to bring economic security to the people of this district who have been pinched by utility corporations, bankrupted by insurance giants, and spurned by corporate real estate developers. He’s fighting to stop and reverse the negative impacts decades of environmental racism and pollution have had on the air and water quality in Detroit and its surrounding suburbs — so that today’s children don’t develop the same chronic cough and health issues that McKinney and his family members developed growing up in Detroit. He is also running to ensure every child in Michigan can receive a quality public education, to push for a robust, quality public transit system, to strengthen the rights of unions and workers, and more. 

In the State House, Rep. McKinney has delivered for Southeastern Michigan, representing the poorest district in the state, with a median income of less than $20,000. Since being elected, he has helped win more than $10 million in community violence intervention programs to Detroit and other areas, leading to the creation of Michigan’s first-in-the-nation statewide CVI program, as well as helping secure millions of dollars for community rec centers and public schools, and helping fund over $600 million to replace lead pipes in Detroit and its suburbs. He is committed to getting big money out of politics, and elevating the voices of voters over the influence of super PACs and corporations, helping lead the introduction of a slate of bills in the State House that would ban monopoly utility corporations and government contractors from making political donations. 

McKinney starts the campaign with endorsements from several local leaders and organizations, spanning nearly every corner of the Congressional district including: State Senator Darrin Camilleri, State Senator Stephanie Chang, State Senator Veronica Klinefelt, State Senator Senator Paul Wojno, Detroit Caucus Chair and State Representative Stephanie Young, State Representative Erin Byrnes, State Representative Kimberly Edwards, State Representative Alabas Farhat, State Representative Peter Herzberg, State Representative Tullio Liberati, State Representative Tonya Myers-Phillips, State Representative Veronica Paiz, former Majority Floor Leader State Representative Abraham Aiyash, former State Representative Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, Wayne County Commissioner Alex Garza, Wayne County Commissioner Allen Wilson, Wyandotte Mayor Pro Tempore Kelly Stec, Allen Park City Councilman Gary Schlack, Wayne-Westland School Board Member At-Large Melandie Hines, and Pastor Sterling H. Brewer. 

He has also been endorsed by Justice Democrats, the national grassroots progressive organization that recruited and helped take on corporate-backed politicians with working class champions like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Summer Lee, and Rashida Tlaib. 

The incumbent, Shri Thanedar, is a self-funded multimillionaire who has more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk than the community he was elected to represent. Since 2021, Thanedar has spent over $17 million of his own wealth to bankroll his Congressional campaigns while spending more taxpayer money than any other member of Congress last year on ads to promote himself. As a result, Thanedar reimbursed himself nearly half a million dollars from House taxpayer dollars and over 50% of his 2024 Congressional expenses went to advertising and printing, while the average House member spent 5% on similar expenses. His outrageous taxpayer spending on self-promotion is the multimillionaire shortcut to compensate for his office consistently being plagued with accusations of poor constituent services – the focus of much of his ad spending. As if his own millions weren’t enough, Thanedar has also taken money from corporate PACs representing Big Pharma, corporate defense contractors, and local utility monopolies raising prices on everyday people like DTE Energy. Thanedar embodies everything wrong with Congress and what voters are fed up with, out-of-touch politicians who cannot be expected to stand up for working class people under attack because their priority is lining the pockets of themselves and their donors. 

As part of the campaign launch, Donavan will host an event this evening alongside friends, neighbors, and supporters at SAY Detroit Play at Lipke Community Center in Detroit. For more information/to RSVP, please contact press@donavanforcongress.com.