Democratic challengers try to scale Rep. Shri Thanedar’s wall of money
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Detroit — It didn’t take long for challengers Mary Waters and Shakira Hawkins to learn what they were up against in the primary race against U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit in the 13th Congressional District.
In May, the smiling visage of Thanedar poked out from billboards and mailers and TV commercials. He has a $5 million bankroll but didn’t use any of it for the May onslaught. It was financed with federal communications money that Congress is allowed to spend before an election blackout period.
More: Detroit congressman Shri Thanedar spending big on TV ads, billboards using taxpayer funds
Money talks in politics and Thanedar and his wheelbarrow of cash will be speaking to voters every day until the Democratic primary on Aug. 6.
Waters, 68, a Detroit City Council member, and Hawkins, 51, who was recently a city government lawyer, have a small fraction of Thanedar’s spending might.
Thanedar loaned $1.45 million to his campaign and had $5.1 million in cash on hand, according to the most recent campaign financial reports. Waters didn’t submit a fundraising disclosure and Hawkins reported raising just $250 in the second quarter.
What to do, what to do?
Waters is hoping her experience as a council member and former state legislator will win people over. She also has the endorsement of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
“I can hit the ground running,” she said. “I know how to get things done.”
Hawkins is taking the opposite approach, arguing that her lack of time in public office makes her a breath of fresh air for voters tired of politicians.
“We need to stop electing the same people over and over again and expect things to change in politics,” she said. “This (job) is not just a stepping stone. This is me making a difference in the community.”
Thanedar, 69, who rose from poverty to become a self-made multimillionaire, said his strength as a candidate goes beyond money.
He touted his work on behalf of constituents. During his 18 months in office, he has obtained $15 million for community projects and handled 1,600 citizen cases, he said.
“I’ve been serving constituents, solving problems with Social Security, IRS refunds, veterans,” Thanedar said. “Every day I have caseworkers who are taking care of issues. With the federal government, we come to the rescue.”
Black representation issue
The 13th Congressional District, which is one of the poorest districts in the country, covers most of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and several Downriver communities.
For all intents and purposes, the winner of the Democratic primary will be sitting in office in January. It’s the strongest Democratic congressional district in Michigan. Martell Bivings, the lone candidate in the Republican primary, was thumped by Thanedar 71%-24% in the 2022 race.
Waters is hoping that voters share her view that a district with the largest Black-majority city in the country should be represented in Congress by an African American.
In the 2022 race, nine candidates split the Black vote, allowing Thanedar, an Indian American, to win with 28% of the vote. That ended 68 years of Detroit being represented by an African American in Congress.
This year political heavyweights…
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