by
Shri Thanedar says he's moving forward with plans to run for Michigan's 13th District Congressional seat next fall, setting up a possible challenge of Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate-turned-state rep told Deadline Detroit Tuesday that he's filed candidate paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. He said last month that he was considering a bid for Congress and had formed an exploratory committee.
"My focus is on bringing federal dollars to Detroit to address infrastructure problems, economic inequalities and to improve quality of life for the residents," he said Tuesday.
Issues he says he'll focus on include public safety, education equity, Medicare for All, paid family leave, universal basic income, and other progressive causes. He says he also plans to seek federal assistance in "some form of 'reparation' to address decades of systematic and institutional racism in urban America."
It's not completely clear as to whether he and Tlaib will compete, given the upcoming redrawing of district lines. Thanedar said he believes Tlaib will run in the new 12th Congressional District, which he said would contain a large part of her current district, including Dearborn. Tlaib is expected to run again in the 13th, but has not ruled out pursuing another seat, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The 45-year-old Congresswoman has high visibility and a strong national fundraising network as a member of "The Squad." Thanedar, however, spent more than $10 million of his own money in a failed 2018 gubernatorial bid that elevated his profile with catchy advertisements.
The 66-year-old won a state legislative seat in 2020 after moving from Ann Arbor to Detroit, where he'd placed first the primary against now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed.
