House Democratic Leaders endorse Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar for re-election  

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Indian American Congressman from Michigan, Shri Thanedar, was endorsed by House Democratic Leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, for his re-election to represent Michigan’s 13^th district.

“Shri is an active member of the House Democratic Caucus who is focused on making life better for everyday Michiganders,” said Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar in a joint statement. “Throughout his time in Congress, Shri has been a common-sense legislator willing to work with anyone to create good-paying union jobs, lower costs, and promote economic opportunity in every zip code. We vigorously endorse Shri’s re-election and look forward to his continued service on behalf of the people of Detroit and Michigan’s 13^th congressional district.”

When asked about the recent endorsements from the House Democratic Leadership, Thanedar told News India Times, “I am very excited. Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who will be the next Speaker of the House, has seen me work every day in Washington DC fighting for the people of my district. Not only leader Hakeem Jeffries, but Kathleen Clark and Pete Aguilar also endorsed me, and their endorsement is an acknowledgement of what I’m able to accomplish in Washington DC.”

Thanedar, a first-term lawmaker elected in 2022, recently filed a complaint with the Wayne County Clerk, Cathy Garrett and requested her to disqualify his Democratic opponent, a former State Senator of Michigan, Adam Hollier, from the primary ballot on grounds that a majority of the signatures he obtained were allegedly fraudulent.

Based on Thanedar’s complaint, and after verifying signatures, Garrett, in her final determination of nominating petitions filed by Hollier, on May 21^st noted, “In your [Thanedar] challenge you allege that the petitions submitted by Candidate Hollier are insufficient due to duplicate signers, unregistered voters, signers registered outside the district, and allegations of petition signature fraud related to certain petition circulators,” adding, “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 – 13^th District.”

Hollier, who had previously contested for Congress, came in second place in the primary, finishing behind Thanedar.

To a question from News India Times about Hollier’s disqualification, Thanedar noted, “Recently, what I saw was that one of my opponents had not submitted valid signatures, and so I challenged the validity of his signatures. Because the law requires us to submit 1000 valid signatures, and this is not a very difficult task,” adding, “Many candidates do that and do that very successfully. And it’s almost a test of your ability to be able to do a task in a competent manner but my opponent failed to submit good quality 1000 signatures.”

According to Thanedar the County Clerk, Garrett, agreed with his analysis and decided “that this person [Hollier] must not be on the ballot. This is just to uphold our democratic principles and the integrity of the election process.”

Thanedar added, “I am honored to have won the vote in Detroit in every one of my elections. For five straight elections, since my run for Governor in 2018, to the State House in 2020, and to the Congress in 2022, Detroit has always stood with me, and I remember that every day,” noting he is confident that his constituents will choose him again to represent them in Washington, and that he is honored to fight for them.

Thanedar further emphasized that he has done good work on constituent services, bringing federal dollars to his district for community projects. He is also proud to have “introduced good quality legislations.”

In response to Garrett’s decision, Hollier in a statement noted, “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 13^th District who deserve a real choice in who their next Congressperson will be” adding, “While I put my trust in someone who let us down in the collection of signatures, ultimately the leadership of the campaign falls on me and I must hold myself to a higher standard.”