State Rep. Donavan McKinney bested two-term incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar in Tuesday's Democratic primary to represent Michigan's 13th Congressional District. Why it matters: The lifelong Detroiter's win likely returns Detroit to Black representation in Congress, which ended with Thanedar's 2022 victory. - It also brings another victory for a progressive-backed candidate. - McKinney won by a slim 51.9% to 48.1%, with the race called late Wednesday morning by AP . State of play: Thanedar had the advantage on funding and name recognition . However, mainstream House Democrats didn't seem as concerned about him losing to a progressive challenger as in other races, Axios' Andrew Solender report s. Yes, but: McKinney still needs to win in…
Michigan progressives woke up Wednesday after a banner night: Abdul El-Sayed leads the uncalled Democratic Senate primary, Will Lawrence won a battleground House nomination, and Donavan McKinney threatens to oust Rep. Shri Thanedar. - Of the three Democratic primaries, only Lawrence's victory has been called. Why it matters: A sweep would signal the left's growing strength in a key swing state. - The state's Democratic Socialists of America chapters, the Working Families Party and the United Auto Workers all flexed their muscles Tuesday up and down the ballot. State of play: El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, clung to a narrow lead over four-term Rep. Haley Stevens — 48.5%–47.5% with 96% of the vote counted. The…
Don't expect a lot of public lamentations from House Democrats next month if Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) loses to his Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed primary opponent. Why it matters: That would be a drastic deviation from recent DSA primary wins , which set off alarm bells among the Democratic establishment. - In the telling of both progressive and moderate House Democrats, Thanedar's anomalous political profile and the makeup of his district will make it difficult to extrapolate from the results of his race. - "It's somewhat of a unique circumstance," Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), a top ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), told Axios. - Another House Democrat, granted anonymity to offer a blunter…
House Democrats are preparing themselves for a caucus in 2027 that is significantly more outspoken and left-wing than the one they have now. Why it matters: It wasn't all that easy to integrate the four-member "Squad " into the Democratic fold. Now party leadership is going to have to contend with a much larger cohort of rabble rousers. - Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) predicted "it will be difficult" to rein in these newly elected democratic socialists: "I think people that follow that [ideology] will cause problems." - Said another House Democrat: "People are electing candidates who say they're going to fight, not solve problems. What they're going to get is fights." - "If they're actually serious legislators, then they going to have to…