{"id":41230,"date":"2025-05-13T11:38:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=41230"},"modified":"2025-05-13T11:38:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:38:28","slug":"tlaib-backs-primary-challenger-mckinney-over-democratic-incumbent-thanedar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/05\/13\/tlaib-backs-primary-challenger-mckinney-over-democratic-incumbent-thanedar\/","title":{"rendered":"Tlaib Backs Primary Challenger McKinney Over Democratic Incumbent Thanedar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Michigan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney speaks at a March 8, 2025 press conference in Lansing, Michigan with congressional Democrats who oppose President Donald Trump’s tariff war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Donavan McKinney\/Instagram)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan’s 13th District deserves better,” said <\/strong>Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in support of state Rep. Donavan McKinney.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 12, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib<\/a> drew praise from progressives Monday after endorsing a state lawmaker’s Democratic primary challenge against an incumbent from a neighboring Michigan district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tlaib (D-Mich.) endorsed 32-year-old state Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-11), who last month announced he is seeking to oust pharmaceutical magnate-turned Congressman Shri Thanedar, who has represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Centering community not only means standing up to corporate donors and lobbyists but also means fighting to address community needs through robust community services and responsive representation,” said Tlaib in a statement. “This type of leadership is missing for residents in the 13th and I know Donavan will bring it… I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan’s 13th District deserves better.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Big news! Rep. Rashida Tlaib is endorsing @donavanmckinney.bsky.social\u2019s campaign for Congress\u2014the first Congressional endorsement of this race. Rashida knows that voters in her neighboring district need a leader who will fight back against billionaire corruption\u2014not a Congressman in name only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[image or embed]<\/a>
\u2014 Justice Democrats (@justicedemocrats.com<\/a>) May 12, 2025 at 7:08 AM<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

McKinney, who is also endorsed by the progressive group Justice Democrats and more than a dozen<\/a> current and former Michigan state lawmakers and other officials, said<\/a> Monday on social media that he is “honored to have” Tlaib’s support and “can’t wait to serve by her side” in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to<\/a> Justice Democrats, McKinney’s “priorities are protecting our economic security, ensuring families have access to clean air and water, ensuring every child can receive a quality public education, bringing justice to the criminal legal system, pushing for a robust, quality public transit system, and expanding the rights of unions and workers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He has worked to lower costs and increase affordability for the people of his district, taken on corporate monopolies, and fought to get big money out of politics on the state-level and he’s running for Congress to bring that fight to Washington,” the group added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanedar responded to Tlaib’s endorsement in an interview with the Detroit Free Press<\/em> in which he said<\/a> that “my focus is, and will continue to be, fighting [President Donald] Trump<\/a>, bringing federal dollars back to the district, and serving my constituents.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m confident voters in the 13th will choose me again in 2026,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One issue of contention between Tlaib and Thanedar is Israel’s U.S.-backed assault on Gaza<\/a>, which is the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case<\/a> and the impetus for International Criminal Court arrest warrants<\/a> targeting fugitive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tlaib\u2014the only Palestinian American member of Congress\u2014is a staunch advocate<\/a> of a Gaza cease-fire and cutting off U.S. military aid to Israel.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanedar previously co-sponsored<\/a> a resolution in Michigan’s House of Representatives advocating an end to U.S. aid for Israel, which he described an an “apartheid state”\u2014a position aligned with the ICJ and numerous international and Israeli human rights groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Thanedar subsequently quit<\/a> the Democratic Socialists of America over what he said was DSA’s failure to condemn the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Wave\u2014a super political action committee linked to American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or\u00a0AIPAC<\/a>,\u00a0spent $2.3 million<\/a>\u00a0on ads attacking Thanedar’s 2024 primary opponent, Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters, who\u00a0drew praise<\/a>\u00a0from the area’s sizable Palestinian and Arab American community for her opposition to Israel’s Gaza onslaught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democratic Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney speaks at a March 8, 2025 press conference in Lansing, Michigan with congressional Democrats who oppose President Donald Trump’s tariff war.  (Photo: Donavan McKinney\/Instagram) “I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan’s 13th District deserves better,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in support of state… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41231,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41230\/revisions\/41231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}