Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar loses his primary to a progressive challenger in Michigan

BREAKING NEWSAug. 5, 2026, 2:02 PM UTC2026 Election2026 ElectionDemocratic Rep. Shri Thanedar loses his primary to a progressive challenger in MichiganThanedar was unseated by Donavan McKinney, a state representative endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Abdul El-Sayed, NBC News projects.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., in the U.S. Capitol in 2025. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Ben KamisarRep. Shri Thanedar has lost his Democratic primary in Michigan to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, NBC News projects, in a victory for the party’s progressive wing. The 34-year-old McKinney won the backing of a number of prominent progressives across the state and country and secured the latest victory for the faction mounting an intraparty insurgency against the Democratic establishment.Michigan Democratic candidate for Congress Donavan McKinney.Sarah Rice / Getty Images fileBut the swirl of unique dynamics in the Detroit-area seat make the victory more complicated than some of the other progressive primary wins so far this election cycle.McKinney, a 34-year-old state lawmaker and democratic socialist, is running on a progressive platform including “Medicare for All” and putting new restrictions on military aid to Israel, while pushing massive investments in sectors like clean energy and housing. Thanedar narrowly won the seat in 2022 after self-funding his campaign, but he has faced his share of scrutiny since. Thanedar initially ran as a progressive but broke with the Democratic Socialists of America in 2023 — he says he quit, the local chapter says he was expelled — and has rebranded more around supporting Israel. He received criticism from Democrats for a push to impeach Trump that was not sanctioned by party leadership, though he recently received an endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top House Democrats anyway. Thanedar’s campaign fundraising and spending ha...