Michigan State Rep. Donavan McKinney has announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress, seeking Michigan's District 13 seat in the 2026 election cycle. With that move, McKinney, 32, of Detroit, would be a primary challenger to incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who won that seat in the 2022 and 2024 elections. In his campaign materials, he said Thanedar has more in common with President Trump and Elon Musk than he does with the people of the Congressional district.

District 13 includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs, including Lincoln Park and Hamtramck. "I'm not running for Congress because I'm a millionaire or a billionaire. I'm running because I'm not," McKinney said in his campaign announcement.

"I'm running because our community deserves to have someone fighting back against the Trump-Musk administration who knows our struggles of housing insecurity, of wages that haven't kept up with the cost of living, of environmental racism, and more — someone who has lived those struggles, and will fight for us with the urgency that this moment demands." McKinney's campaign announcement included a video, social media and website launch. "People across this country and even the world know Detroit – or they think they do.

They know our music, our sports, our struggle. But what people always forget is none of this is possible without our people," his video script said. "This district is one of the poorest places in America.

But the mighty 13th knows hard work better than anyone. It's the people who clock in, generation after generation, shift after shift, who get forgotten first. …

I'm running for Congress because we deserve better." His platform includes bringing economic security to those who have been adversely affected by high utility costs and other expenses. He is focusing on environmental quality and pollution mitigation so that children living in Metro Detroit have healthier air, citing his own history of an asthmatic cough developed while growing up in Detroit.

He also emphasizes quality public education and a robust public transit system. In Lansing, McKinney represents the poorest legislative district in the state, with a median income of less than $20,000 among the residents. In that role, he sought funding for community violence intervention programs, community recreation centers and lead water pipe replacement.

McKinney attended Detroit Public Schools and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.