Indian American Shri Thanedar Defeats Black Challengers in Michigan Primary in Heavily Democratic 13th District
- In Kansas, Prasanth Reddy secures Republican nomination, while State Sen. Usha Reddi Advances to general election.
Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan) has won the Democratic primary from the state’s 13th Congressional District, defeating Detroit Council member Mary Waters and Attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins.
The Belgaum-born 67-year-old entrepreneur and self-made millionaire will move forward to the November ballot where he is favored to win the heavily Democratic district.
“I want to thank my opponents for running and participating in the democratic process,” Thanedar said at his election night party in Detroit. “I thank U.S. House Democratic Leadership for endorsing me, as well as the unions and groups that supported my campaign. Now, I’m looking forward to helping Vice President Kamala Harris and [her running mate, Minnesota] Gov. Tim Walz win Michigan so we can do even more for my constituents.”
Thanedar won the seat in 2022 and will face Republican Martell Bivings, who ran unopposed in the Aug. 6 primary and lost to Thanedar by a wide margin in 2022. Thanedar’s 2022 win was significant given that he was the first non-Black representative in over 70 years from the newly redrawn 13th District which is now 45 percent Black. It covers most of Detroit, Hamtramck, Grosse Pointe, and the Downriver communities. He occupies the seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Southfield, the state’s sole African American in Congress, who is retired at the end of her term.
Last September, Thanedar launched the ‘Hindu Caucus’ in the U.S. Congress to bring like-minded lawmakers under one umbrella to eliminate hate and bigotry against Hindus in the country. He also renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, citing his support for Israel in an ongoing war with Hamas. A former aide later accused Thanedar of leaning on congressional staff for campaign work, which the congressman’s chief of staff denied.
In Kansas, Prasanth Reddy won the Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, while State Sen. Usha Reddi, a Democrat, advanced to the Nov. 5 election.
Reddy, an oncology and internal medicine specialist, defeated small business owner Karen Crnkovich for the right to challenge three-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation.
Reddy said he’s running for Congress now “to be an independent voice for this district, and to secure the American Dream,” he said in a statement. “We can’t secure the American Dream if families are struggling to make ends meet if our border is open, and if our country is weak around the world.
Reddi, who ran unopposed, has been representing District 22 since Jan. 11, 2023, when the former commissioner and former mayor of Manhattan replaced longtime Senator Tom Hawk. The 59-year-old was elected to serve on the Manhattan City Commission in April 2013 and was re-elected in 2017 to a four-year term of office. She served as mayor in 2016-2017 and in 2020. Previously, she was an educator in Manhattan-Ogden public schools, where she served a term as president of their National Education Association chapter. In 2020, she announced her bid to run for a U.S. Senate seat to represent Kansas, but she suspended her campaign before the Aug. 4 Democratic primary.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the election for attorney general will not be getting a favorable result for state Sen. Manka Dhingra. As of Aug. 6 night, Republican Pete Serrano was in the lead with 41.9% of the vote, the Washington State Standard reported, citing results posted by the secretary of state’s office. Democrat Nick Brown is in second spot with 36%, followed by Dhingra with 22.2%.
Dhingra represents the 45th legislative district in Washington and is the deputy majority leader of the Senate. She is chair of the Law & Justice Committee and a member of the Health & Long Term Care Committee and Ways & Means Committee.