US left-wing challengers topple 3 Indian-American Democrats
According to Michigan Public, McKinney won with 51.9% of the vote against Thanedar’s 48.1%.
Washington Three Indian-American Democratic politicians have lost their primaries to progressive or Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed challengers ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections. Congressman Shri Thanedar of Michigan, New York Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and Georgia state Senate candidate Rahul Garabadu were defeated in their respective contests. Thanedar, who represents Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, lost the August 4 primary to state Representative Donavan McKinney. McKinney secured 51.9 per cent of the vote against Thanedar’s 48.1 per cent, according to Michigan Public. McKinney received support from Justice Democrats, which reportedly spent nearly $1 million on the race. Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar and Summer Lee also backed him. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported Thanedar, who had about $5 million available for his campaign, compared with $1.37 million raised by McKinney. In New York, Rajkumar lost the June 23 primary in Assembly District 38 to DSA member David Orkin. Orkin received 58.8 per cent of the vote, while Rajkumar secured 40.9 per cent, with more than 94 per cent of votes counted. He was backed by the New York City DSA and DRUM Beats, a South Asian working-class organisation. Rajkumar was elected in 2020 as the first Indian-American woman to serve in New York state office. In Georgia, Garabadu lost the June 16 Democratic runoff for state Senate District 7 to state Representative Ruwa Romman. Romman won with 4,636 votes against Garabadu’s 3,073. She received support from Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Congressman Hank Johnson. The results come amid a wider trend of Democratic incumbents facing primary challenges. Twelve US House incumbents lost their primaries during the election cycle, including seven Democrats. Despite these defeats, Indian-American voters continue to lean towards the Democratic Party. A summer survey by AAPI Vote and AAPI Data found that Indian-American voters favoured Democratic House candidates over Republicans by 66 per cent to 18 per cent. All six current Indian-American members of the US House are Democrats.
