May 31 :
Several prominent House Democrats, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, have lent their support to Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar as he seeks reelection to continue representing Michigan's thirteenth district.
In a joint statement, Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar praised Shri as an engaged member of the House Democratic Caucus who is committed to improving the lives of ordinary Michiganders. Shri has been an approachable lawmaker who is eager to collaborate on issues affecting all Americans, including the creation of union employment with competitive wages, cost reduction, and the expansion of economic opportunity. Shri has our full support for his re-election, and we hope he will continue to serve the people of Detroit and Michigan's thirteenth congressional district.
The new endorsements from the House Democratic Leadership have Thanedar "extremely excited," he told My daily fight for the people of my district in Washington DC has been witnessed by Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who will soon be the Speaker of the House. Their endorsement is a testament to what I can achieve in Washington DC; not only did leader Hakeem Jeffries back me, but Kathleen Clark and Pete Aguilar as well.
A first-term lawmaker named Thanedar petitioned Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett for the purpose of disqualifying Adam Hollier, a former state senator from Michigan and his Democratic opponent, from the primary ballot. The reason given was that Hollier allegedly obtained a majority of fraudulent signatures. After reviewing Thanedar's complaint and checking signatures, Garrett stated in her final ruling on Hollier's nominating petitions that, "I am adopting the staff's recommendation, and hereby determine the nominating petitions are insufficient in number to allow candidate Adam Hollier's name to appear on the August 6, 2024, primary election ballot for the office of US Representative in Congress - 13th District." The ruling was made on May 21st. In the primary, Hollier, who had run for Congress before, finished second, just behind Thanedar.
"Recently, what I saw was that one of my opponents had not submitted valid signatures, so I challenged the validity of his signatures," Thanedar said in regarding Hollier's disqualification. This is not a very difficult assignment; in fact, many candidates do it and do it very well; the law needs us to submit a thousand legitimate signatures. In addition, getting 1000 high-quality signatures is almost a test of your competence, yet my opponent was unable to achieve so. The fact that Thanedar has been elected mayor of Detroit without a single loss is an honour, he said. From my 2018 run for governor to my 2020 and 2022 campaigns for the state house and Congress, Detroit has been my rock, and I'll never forget it. He goes on to say that he's sure his constituents will vote for him again, and that it's an honour to serve as their representative in Washington.
Thanedar went on to say that he has been an effective representative for his constituents by securing funding from the federal government to fund local initiatives. Additionally, he takes great pride in having "introduced good quality legislations."
Hollier expressed her disappointment with Garrett's decision, saying, "I am extremely disappointed with the news from the Wayne County Clerk following her thorough and professional review of our petitions - not for myself, but for the voters across the 13th District who deserve a real choice in who their next Congressperson will be.
