Group behind AOC launches its first primary challenge of 2026
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Rep. Shri Thanedar walking to a vote outside the U.S. Capitol on April 10. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The left-wing group Justice Democrats is launching its first primary challenge of the cycle against Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.).
Why it matters: It is one of numerous insurgent bids likely to be announced in the coming months as progressive anti-incumbency groups try to harness grassroots anger towards the Democratic establishment.
- As Axios reported last week, groups such as the Justice Democrats and David Hogg's Leaders We Deserve are anticipating potentially dozens of House Democrats to face primary challenges.
Driving the news: The group, best known for helping fuel Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) upset victory in 2018, said in a press release shared with Axios that it is supporting state Rep. Donavan McKinney.
- McKinney is the second Democrat running to unseat Thanedar, joining former state Sen. Adam Hollier, who narrowly lost to Thanedar in 2022 and tried to run against him in 2024 but failed to qualify for the ballot.
- "Democratic voters ... are fed up with a Democratic Party overrun by do-nothing career politicians who are totally unequipped to lead in this moment," said Justice Democrats executive director Alexandra Rojas.
Zoom out: This is the first time since the 2022 election cycle that Justice Democrats is supporting a primary challenger to an incumbent House Democrat.
- In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, the group helped Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) unseat former Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) in 2018.
- In 2020, they replicated their success by supporting successful primary challenges against former Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), and in 2022 helped several more progressives win open seats.
- The group spent the 2024 cycle on defense, however, with both of their successful 2020 recruits, Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), losing reelection.
Zoom in: McKinney's entry into the race could complicate matters for Democrats looking to take out Thanedar, a wealthy former businessman who largely self-funds his campaigns.
- Thanedar was able to squeak through a crowded 2022 primary in which Hollier and eight other Democratic candidates split the vote.
- His win left Detroit, which is 80% Black, without a Black congressman for the first time in nearly 70 years.
- Hollier had hoped to be able to consolidate opposition support last year, but he failed to garner enough valid signatures to get on the ballot. Thanedar instead faced Mary Waters, an underfunded Detroit councilwoman who still garnered 34 percent of the vote.
The other side: Thanedar said in a statement posted to social media that "voters have a choice between my bold, strong and proven leadership, or Hollier's incompetence, or McKinney's inexperience."
- "I'm confident that my constituents in Michigan 13 will send me back to Congress again," he said.
- Thanedar also introduced seven articles of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, just hours after McKinney launched his bid.
Go deeper: House Democrats' headaches are about to get much worse
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
