The Stinking Rich Self-Funders-- Let's Take A Look At Detroit's 13th Congressional District

Here's What's Wrong With Self-Funders

Liquor distributor and New Dem waste of a congressional seat, David Trone has, just in the last quarter, put $13,720,903 of his own money into his campaign to buy a Maryland Senate seat. It makes me want to puke— especially because if he wins the primary, it opens a path for Republican Larry Hogan to flip a deep blue Senate seat.

Trone’s the worst but there are other characters trying to use their personal wealth to buy seats in Congress as well. Just in this quarter, the standouts were: 

• Shri Thanedar (MI-13)- $2,150,000

• Gil Cisneros (CA-31)- $1,850,000

• Peter Dixon (CA-16)- $705,456

• Geoffrey Grammer (MD-06)- $220,000

• Ben Savage (CA—30)- $200,000

Do I think those kinds of expenditure should make people reluctant to vote for thse candidates? You bet I do. This kind of self-funding exacerbates already over-the-top inequalities in political influence by giving the super-rich a hard to compete with advantages over candidates who rely on grassroots fundraising or public financing, distorting the democratic process by allowing wealthy candidates to buy their way into office, where they undermine the interests of the working class. This kind of self-funding subverts the principle of political equality, which holds that all citizens should have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and have their voices heard. When candidates rely on personal wealth rather than widespread support from constituents, it erodes public trust in the fairness and integrity of elections. And, let’s remember that candidates who self-fund are generally less accountable to voters since they have no need to appeal to a broad base of supporters for fundraising, giving them an incentive to prioritize the concerns of wealthy individuals and special interest groups over the needs of the general public, even aligning with their personal interests and financial investments, resulting in policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the broader population, further exacerbating economic and social inequalities. The reliance on personal wealth to finance campaigns works to limit the diversity of candidates, particularly candidates from marginalized or under-represented communities who don’t have access to significant personal wealth contributing to inclusivity in government.

Let’s look at the MI-13 race which includes much of Detroit and suburbs like Highland Park and Grosse Point to the north and Lincoln Park, Romulus and Southgate to the southwest. It’s the bluest district in Michigan with a D+46 partisan lean. Obama won it both times with 85%; Hillary and Biden both won it with 79% and Whitmer took 81% in the 2018 gubernatorial election. In 2022, state Rep Shri Thanedar won the congressional district with 71%.

The words “principled” or “values-driven” don’t exactly come to mind when anyone is talking about Thanedar. “Opportunist,” on the other hand, does. He joined both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the corporately-funded New Dems. In the state House he was a co-sponsor of a resolution to halt aid to Israel, which was accurately described as an "apartheid state." That caused AIPAC and DMFI to support state Sen Adam Hollier against him in the congressional race with almost $4.3 million. Thanedar put $6.2 million of his own into the race and won. A few months later, he traveled to Israel on an AIPAC brainwashing trip and came back spouting the AIPAC line. Since then, AIPAC has abandoned Hollier and is supporting Thanedar’s reelection bid, especially now that he’s loudly opposing a ceasefire, referring to victims of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians as “unfortunate casualties.”

But the millions of dollars he’s spent on his various campaigns— over $10 million in his failed gubernatorial race— can buy a lot of positive messaging that some voters come to believe. Primary School has all the latest on the race, including a second anti-Thanedar candidate, Detroit City Councilmember at-large Mary Waters, who is running as an anti-war candidate and to the left of both Thanedar and Hollier, although, as Primary School pointed out,“placing the eccentric congressman on a left-right spectrum seems almost futile.” 

On Thursday, Malachi Barrett reported that Waters started making the case that Thanedar “doesn’t deserve a second term [as she announced his candidacy] outside Hamtramck City Hall, highlighting an endorsement from the city’s Mayor Amer Ghalib and her solidarity with Arab American and Muslim voters who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The former three-term state representative said she was the ‘number one supporter’ of a ceasefire resolution passed by the Detroit City Council last year. If elected, Waters said she would promote a ‘world peace agenda’ and shift military spending to social programs. ‘Voters want the killing to stop,’ Waters said. ‘Most human beings, when you care about other people, want to eliminate the violence. On the streets in the city of Detroit, I want that killing to stop, too. These kids over in Gaza are being killed by the thousands. It’s just wrong.’” 

The 2022 election marked the first time Detroit has not been represented by a Black person in almost 70 years. 

Detroit Democrats who are looking to stop Thanedar from securing reelection worry that another crowded field could split votes and benefit the Indian-American millionaire. Waters said it’s up to voters to make the right choice. 

“I will be more than a picture on a card in your mailbox,” Waters said. “I will be more than an expensive TV ad.”

Waters said she chose to launch her challenge in Hamtramck because it is the only American city with a Muslim City Council and mayor. Waters also denounced a recent column in the Wall Street Journal that called Dearborn “America’s Jihad Capital.” 

“We are Americans,” Waters said. “We must focus on what unifies us and gives us a foundation of hope.” 

…Waters served in the state House of Representatives from November 2000 to 2006 and was the first Black minority floor leader from 2003 to 2006.

…Waters also pledged to increase social security payments, craft stronger border policies to protect Americans from fentanyl, lead federal intervention to lower car insurance and address environmental pollution. 

“We will be tackling issues confronting seniors, veterans, single mothers and families, including public safety, affordable housing, poverty, literacy challenges, foreclosure prevention, and our inadequate health system while growing entrepreneur opportunities,” Waters said. “Let’s get to work right now and shock the world.” 

Meanwhile the conservative Hollier has been endorsed by a gaggle of misguided national figures who would like to see Thanedar defeated but ignored Waters, including Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, and DNC Black Caucus Chair Virgie Hollins.