The 2022 election left Detroit without Black representation in Congress for the first time in decades. After the results of last week’s Michigan primary, that’s unlikely to change in 2024.

Incumbent Shri Thanedar defeats two challengers

When Shri Thanedar won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District in 2022, he defeated eight Black challengers. Together, those candidates received more than 70% of the vote. But no single one earned more votes than Thanedar, who was born in India. His 28% was enough to earn the nomination and ensure victory in November in one of America’s safest Democratic districts.

This year, Thanedar faced just two Black challengers: Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters and attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins. Waters ran on the promise of restoring Black representation in Washington, D.C. and accused Thanedar of ignoring constituents.

“I have never ever seen so many people who were unhappy with representation,” Waters has said. “Nobody, not one person said to me, not then or now, that they were satisfied with the representation they were receiving.”

Invalid signatures knocked one candidate off the ballot

A third Black candidate, former state Senator Adam Hollier, filed petitions to run against Thanedar. Hollier ran in 2022 and had the backing of many prominent Democrats and faith leaders. But Thanedar challenged Hollier’s nominating petitions, citing possible forgeries. The Wayne County Clerk examined the petitions and determined Hollier did not submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. 

Duggan endorsed Mary Waters over Thanedar

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced his endorsement of Mary Waters at the Mackinac Policy Conference in May. But even with his support, she couldn’t raise enough money to overcome the wealthy Thanedar, who relied mostly on his own fortune.

This time he won with about 54% of the vote. Thanedar says when he talks to constituents, they say their main concern is neither race nor ethnicity, but how he can help them.

“It’s not about who I am, my race, my skin color,” Thanedar said. “For them, it’s someone that will help them. Whether to close the economic gap, whether to create those skill sets so they can get a good paying job, whether someone can lower health care costs.”

Thanedar’s opponent in November 2024 is a Black Republican, Martell Bivings. It’s a rematch of 2022, when Thanedar beat Bivings by an almost 3-1 margin. Bivings spoke to WDET’s All Things Considered host Russ McNamara about why he’s running for Congress again.

Detroit’s other member of Congress, Palestinian American Rashida Tlaib, won the general election in 2022 and had no primary opponent this year.

James-Marlinga rematch set for November

Michigan’s only Black representative, Republican John James, faces a rematch in November with former Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga, who won the Democratic primary in the 10th Congressional District. James beat Marlinga by less than one percent two years ago, but Marlinga says he’s counting on Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to help him flip the seat.

“We have a ticket that’s just designed perfectly for the voters of this county,” Marlinga said. “Macomb County is known as the home to Reagan Democrats from years ago. We tend to vote Democratic but we are suspicious of extremes at either end, right or left.”

That may be true in local races, but in national elections, Macomb County is former President Donald Trump’s territory. The three-time Republican nominee won 53 percent of the vote in the county in 2016 and 2020. Macomb County voters also favored now-Rep. John James in his failed attempt to defeat Gary Peters for his U.S. Senate seat in 2020.

GOP eyes return to Senate

Michigan will have an open Senate seat this year with Democrat Debbie Stabenow’s retirement, and the GOP is counting on former Congressman Mike Rogers to flip it in November. It’s been 30 years since Michigan elected a Republican to the Senate. But Rogers, who easily won the 2024 primary election, says his economic message resonates with factory workers in Macomb County and the rest of the state.

“I spent a lot of time with folks in the factory who are saying, ‘this thing scares me.’ They should be scared,” Rogers said. “That’s why we’re going to win. So this is a sprint. We know we’re in it. It’s going to be tight. There’s going to be eight gazillion dollars flowing into this state.”

Rogers and his Democratic opponent, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, have already raised millions of dollars in what pundits say will be one of the closest and most expensive Senate races in the country. Slotkin, who has proven she can beat Republicans in close races, says voters want someone who can work both sides of the aisle.

“I understand what it’s like to be cynical about politics and not expect a lot from your elected officials,” Slotkin said. “I understand the bar is very low for many elected officials. My plan is to leap over that very, very low bar.”

It’s a toss-up right now

The latest polling gives Slotkin a slight edge in a head-to-head match with Rogers. In a New York Times/Siena College survey of 619 likely Michigan voters taken between Aug. 5-8, 46% said they would vote for Slotkin, 43% chose Rogers and 11% either said they didn’t know or refused to answer. The poll’s 4.8% margin of error makes the race a toss-up.

In the end, the only poll that matters is who wins the Nov. 5 general election.

In Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, Democrat Carl Marlinga is set to face off against Republican incumbent John James, who defeated Marlinga in the last election by only about 1,600 votes — or one-half of one percentage point. 

Marlinga, a former Macomb County judge and prosecutor, says national donors did not put much effort into his campaign last time because former Congressman Andy Levin decided Democrats had a better chance in a different district. 

“If he could not win this district, what chance would anybody else have? But they didn’t have the local knowledge about my years as a prosecutor, as a probate judge, as a circuit court judge – the knowledge of what I would bring to the table,” Marlinga said. “Now they do.” 

Marlinga says there are clear issues separating him from the Republican Congressman now, including issues over reproductive rights, limiting inflation and finding ways to keep raw sewage from overflowing into Lake St. Clair.  

“I’m the guy with the record protecting the lake,” Marlinga said. “John James is the guy who wants to drill for oil in the lake.” 

Republican party officials counter that members like James —  who was unopposed in his primary — will fight to stabilize the economy, lower prices and secure the nation’s borders. 

The 10th Congressional District race was the third-closest in the nation in 2022. Now, with the Democratic party’s new presidential ticket, Marlinga says excitement about the Harris-Walz campaign could play well across the electorate.

“We have a ticket that is just designed perfectly for the voters of this county,” he said. “Macomb County is known as the home to Reagan Democrats from years ago. We tend to vote Democratic but we are suspicious of extremes at either end — right or left.” 

Republicans, both nationally and in Michigan, contend that the Democratic presidential candidate will cater too much to progressive causes. 

U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar defeated Detroit City Council member Mary Waters in the Democratic primary for the Detroit area’s 13th Congressional District.

Waters, who had been endorsed by Mayor Mike Duggan, argued during her campaign that the district should have a Black representative as it did for decades.

“I have never ever seen so many people who were unhappy with representation,” said Waters. “Nobody, not one person said to me, not then or now that they were satisfied with the representation that they were receiving.”

Throughout the campaign, Duggan has also said that Thanedar has not done enough for the district. But Thanedar says his team has closed more than 1,800 constituent cases successfully.

“People don’t care whether their problem is a federal problem or a state problem or a local problem,” said Thanedar. “They want it to be solved. And my team is very focused on it.”

Thanedar’s campaign held a major cash advantage over Waters, running several campaign ads on television, and his win likely leaves Detroit — a city that is nearly 80% Black — without Black representation in Congress for a second consecutive term.

But Thanedar, who was born in India, says when he speaks to residents, their main concern is not his ethnicity…but how he can help his constituents.

“It’s not about who I am, my race, my skin color. For them it is someone that will help them,” he said. “Whether to close the economic gap, whether to create those skill sets so they can get a good paying job, whether someone who can lower health care costs.”

However, Waters maintains that constituents have not been happy with the Congressman’s performance in office.

“Had you been doing your job the community would be able to connect with you, they would know who you are,” she said. “Had you been providing constituent services like you were supposed to there would be no need to spend that kind of money against a candidate who barely raised $150,000.” 

Thanedar was first elected to Congress in 2022. He’ll face Republican Martell Bivings —who ran uncontested — in November’s general election.

Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report. 

Wayne County voters approved two ballot initiatives on Tuesday that will renew a millage to fund improvements to parks and recreational facilities and remove a requirement to find a new financial auditor every eight years.

Proposition P renews the county’s existing millage to provide continued financial support for parks and related facilities, generating approximately $14 million annually from 2026 to 2030. 

The funds raised through this millage will be directed toward capital improvements and infrastructure projects in major parks, including Hines Park, Elizabeth Park, Wayne County Family Aquatic Center at Chandler Park, and improvements to municipal parks in more than 40 Wayne County communities.

For a home assessed at $100,000, the renewed millage will add around $12 per year to homeowners’ property tax bill.

The proposal passed with more than 74% of the vote.

Voters also approved Proposition A, which removes language in the Wayne County Charter requiring it find a new auditor every eight years, and instead, allow any qualified auditing firm to be awarded a contract for services when the contract is competitively bid.

More information about the proposal, which passed with 52.4% of the vote, can be found here.

Lastly, voters in Detroit also approved Proposal L, which renews the city’s Library Operating Millage for another 10 years. The 3.9943 millage renewal — which will not raise residents’ taxes — will provide city libraries with almost all of its operating budget for the next decade.

Homeowners in the city will continue to pay $3.99 per $1,000 of taxable property value. The millage renewal also includes changes to Detroit’s tax capture policies that will boost library funding by an additional $3 million next year.

Officials said if the proposal had not passed, Detroit’s 22 libraries would have closed.

Detroiters voted overwhelmingly to renew the millage, with over 85% of voters approving the measure.

WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

Voters in Michigan head to the 2024 primary election polls on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to vote for who they want to on the ballot during the general election on November 5. Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET will have key primary election results as soon as they’re reported.

All election night results are unofficial until they are certified by the county and/or state board of canvassers.

More Primary Results »

See the primary election results for the Macomb County Sheriff race below.

100% precincts reporting

Voters in Michigan head to the 2024 primary election polls on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to vote for who they want to on the ballot during the general election on November 5. Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET will have key primary election results as soon as they’re reported.

All election night results are unofficial until they are certified by the county and/or state board of canvassers.

More Primary Results »

See the primary election results for the United States Senate race below.

Update: Associated Press has declared that Elissa Slotkin (D) and Mike Rogers (R) have won their respective primaries. They will face off in November’s general election.