Two Michigan Democratic congressional primaries on Tuesday underscored divisions within the party over Israel.
In the Detroit-based 13th District, Donavan McKinney, a state representative, defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), whose support for Israel drew criticism from the party’s left. In the neighboring 11th District, Jeremy Moss, a state senator who has emphasized his support for Israel, won the Democratic nomination for an open House seat.
With 99% of the vote in, McKinney received 57,714 votes (51.9%) while Thanedar received 53,494 votes (48.1%), according to the Associated Press. A “Palestine” section on McKinney’s campaign website calls for ending U.S. military aid to Israel, says Israel “needs to immediately end the genocide” and demands the release of “all Palestinians who have been detained.”
Shortly after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Thanedar renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, stating that “after the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which included the indiscriminate murder, rape and kidnapping of innocent men, women and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms.”
He added that a New York City rally promoted by the New York City chapter of the DSA made it “impossible” to continue his affiliation.
“I stand with Israel and its right to defend itself,” Thanedar said at the time. “There is no place for moral equivocation in the face of unadulterated evil as we have seen from Hamas.”
The DSA congratulated McKinney on his victory, stating that he unseated “a millionaire AIPAC stooge.”
In Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, Moss won the Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate. He defeated three Democratic opponents with 73,140 votes (49.5%) with 99% of the vote counted, according to the AP.
Moss has described support for Israel as a core part of his Jewish identity and has opposed efforts to condition U.S. military aid.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee hailed Moss’s victory, stating that he defeated “two anti-Israel detractors.”
“Would-be Squad member Aisha Farooqi, who accused Israel of ‘genocide,’ called for cutting off all aid to Israel and disparaged AIPAC members, and Don Ufford, who worked to smear pro-Israel Democrats, both lost, leaving pro-Israel leadership in place as Moss succeeds Stevens in this safe Democratic seat,” the organization wrote.
