Congress

Michigan Democrats make another run at Shri Thanedar

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2025

Michigan Democrats are once again plotting to oust Rep. Shri Thanedar.

The Indian-American Democrat has held a plurality Black district in the Detroit metro since 2023, much to the chagrin of the Congressional Black Caucus. Unable to oust Thanedar in 2024, some Black leaders are ready to try again in the midterms.

State Rep. Donavan McKinney, a 32-year-old community leader, is seriously considering a run against Thanedar, according to two people who were granted anonymity to discuss his internal deliberations.

McKinney, first elected to the state legislature in 2022, has long been involved in Michigan politics and has ties to the state’s powerful labor unions. He has served as a legislative director in the state House, worked for SEIU Healthcare Michigan and nabbed a spot on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Environmental Justice advisory council. He now represents a legislative district that straddles 8 Mile Road, the famed thoroughfare dividing Detroit and its northern suburbs.

A bid for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District would not be McKinney’s first run against Thanedar. McKinney lost a crowded state House primary to him in 2020, coming in second with 20 percent to Thanedar’s 35 percent. (Thanedar greatly outspent him.)

McKinney has been urged to run by labor leaders in the state and he has discussed a bid with members of the CBC, a group that desperately wants the district to have Black representation and has had a thorny relationship with Thanedar.

Thanedar, in a statement, said he was focused on fighting back against President Donald Trump but “that said, I won my last election with an outright majority beating my nearest opponent by 21%. I’m honored to have won Detroit 7 times in a row, in fact I have never lost an election in Detroit.”

Thanedar is not a soft opponent. He’s wealthy and has self-funded his bids after succeeding former Rep. Brenda Lawrence (who has received outreach from Michigan Democrats but is unlikely to run again). He won in 2022 after Black voters were split among several candidates — something that his opponents know could easily happen again.

“Black leaders in Detroit are going to coalesce around someone and then voters will decide who can best represent their values,” said one strategist close to the CBC who was granted anonymity to discuss party strategy. “What you can know for sure is the CBC is going to ensure the people of Detroit are well represented in Washington.”

At least two other prominent Black candidates declined to rule out running when asked by Blue Light News.

Former state House Speaker Joe Tate recently declined to run for Detroit mayor and said in a text message: “I’m focused on serving my community and helping them prosper. Unfortunately, people are hurting because of irresponsible and harmful policies from the Trump administration. … I’m working daily in Lansing to protect my community and will continue exploring ways to best serve Detroit and the State of Michigan.”

And then there’s former state Sen. Adam Hollier, who lost narrowly in the 2022 primary to Thanedar but didn’t make the ballot when he ran again in 2024. He also hasn’t ruled out another try.

“I’m not ready to make any announcement,” he said in a phone interview, adding that he was grateful for the encouragement he’d gotten to run.

Congress

Chris Murphy plans midterm travel blitz, fundraising for Nixon in Florida

Published

53 minutes ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Chris Murphy wants Democrats to go big for Angie Nixon in Florida’s Senate race — and he’s pushing to raise some “serious money” to help.

“I do believe that we’d make a big mistake if we slept on Florida,” the Connecticut Democrat told Blue Light News on Friday. “I know it feels like a longer shot, but I just think this year is looking exceptional.”

Murphy plans to hit the trail with Nixon as part of a campaign swing for Senate candidates over the next three weeks that will take him through North Carolina and Florida, as well as events with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. Murphy will serve as a surrogate for El-Sayed in the spin room at his next debate, and said he’s “just a big believer” in the Michigan Senate nominee.

Murphy’s bullishness about a blue wave comes as Senate Democrats are pushing the boundaries of a midterm battle map that is shifting further into red territory. The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC has dropped roughly $5 million apiece into Texas and Kansas over recent days, and the minority leader has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

“If I were in charge, I would definitely put some resources in Florida,” Murphy said. “When you have an exciting candidate like this, it’s a good long-term investment” in growing Democrats’ activist base.

Still, Murphy stressed he’s “not making any formal recommendations” on where Schumer or top Democratic campaign groups should move their money.

“They’ve got so many mouths to feed,” Murphy said. “That’s why I’m going to try to step up and do some work on my own.”

Murphy, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, has spread roughly $2.5 million across candidates, campaign arms and other organizations this cycle. That includes transferring more than $500,000 to Democrats’ three top campaign arms and 25 state parties.

Prominent Democrats have been ramping up their attention on Florida. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has funneled $250,000 toward Nixon’s campaign, along with other resources. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) also told Blue Light News he hopes to campaign with Nixon.

But Democrats across suddenly competitive red states are clamoring for more cash and Florida is an expensive state, complicating the chances of a significant investment from national groups.

Nixon also faces an uphill battle against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody in the Sunshine State. A progressive state lawmaker, Nixon aligned herself with the Democratic Socialists of America over the summer in a state where many voters, especially those with ties to Cuba, reject such an ideology. Also, Republicans in Florida have a 1.5 million voter registration advantage over Democrats.

Congress

Democrats drop $5M into Kansas Senate race

Published

4 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC is pushing into Kansas.

The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC is launching a $5 million statewide television ad blitz starting Saturday through Election Day — the latest sign that Democrats believe the Senate map is shifting onto red turf.

SMP had signaled in recent days it could get involved in the race, telling Blue Light News late last month it was “actively thinking” about whether to wade into the state where Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in nearly a century but where Adam Hamilton narrowly leads GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in recent polls. Internal SMP polling that found an increasingly competitive race factored into the group’s decision to spend. It will also run digital ads.

“The gap is closing in Kansas,” SMP spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring families understand Marshall’s real record of making health care and basic goods more expensive for working Kansans.”

Republicans are scrambling to shore up Marshall. Senate Leadership Fund, a top GOP super PAC aligned with Republican leadership, has booked over $10 million in ads through Election Day in the state, per ad tracking firm AdImpact.

SMP’s first ad attacks Marshall for joining Senate Republicans in voting to table a Democratic-led amendment last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate later approved legislation to release the files by unanimous consent. It’s the latest in a slate of ads from Democrats hitting their Republican rivals over the late, disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Marshall’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senate Democrats’ plunge into the state comes as the midterm battle map is undergoing a major realignment. Georgia and North Carolina — primed to be two of the cycle’s premiere battlegrounds — are tilting left to the point where national Republicans are retracting spending in both states and Democrats are starting to follow suit, freeing funds on both sides to shift elsewhere.

Republicans are racing to reinforce incumbents across what was once safer red turf. SLF has also pledged $5 million to bolster Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina.

Democrats, meanwhile, are starting to spend more in red states. SMP has dropped over $2 million on digital ads in Texas. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

Congress

House Democratic campaign arm says it needs $17 million, and fast

Published

5 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is begging for resources, and setting a hard deadline for donors to give $17 million in order to compete in a handful of districts that Republicans carried easily in 2024.

DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said the committee needs the cash influx by Oct. 22 in order to “to take advantage of the opportunities we have” outside of the core battlefield, according to a memo shared with donors on Friday and obtained by POLITICO.

If they don’t pony up, Merz warns, the party “could be leaving winnable races on the table.”

Democrats have been clear that they have a fundraising disadvantage this cycle, but they have so far been reluctant to place a specific dollar amount on their needs, making the DCCC’s memo Friday a particularly surprising outlier.

“Here’s the tough reality though: the Republican ecosystem has amassed a massive war chest that is significantly greater than ours and is spending it,” Merz says in the memo after arguing that the members of the committee “remain confident that we will win back the majority in 25 days.”

Specifically, Merz dedicates significant portions of the memo to four districts where the committee is desperate for more money in order to compete — all of which President Donald Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024:

— Florida’s 27th District (Trump +14.6)

— Nevada’s 2nd District (Trump +13.9)

— South Carolina’s 1st District (Trump +13)

— New York’s 21st District (Trump +20.7)

The fundraising disadvantage has created headaches for both House and Senate Democrats over where, exactly, to deploy the resources they do have.

The committee tells donors that their internal polling shows all of those races within reach, but that Republicans’ big cash advantages — especially in the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. — will make it harder to win those and other reach seats.

Merz also name drops a handful of other deep-red districts that are “worthy of additional investment in this environment,” including seats held by GOP Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the Republican National Congressional Committee.

The NRCC was quick to mock the DCCC’s memo.

“No amount of money fixes candidates voters don’t want. These seats are staying red, and Republicans are on offense across the map,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement.