There is a socialist insurgency within the Democratic Party. It’s no longer confined to New York, coastal regions, or urban centers. This is a nationwide movement, and the party establishment is trembling, as they probably didn’t anticipate these expenses to defend quality Democratic incumbents this cycle. However, while Democrats wrestle with the far-left upheavals in the Big Apple and Colorado, in particular, there is one race they couldn’t care less about. In fact, they’re essentially telling the Democratic Socialists of America they can clip this guy.
It’s Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), who is facing a far-left challenger in Donavan McKinney, a Michigan State House representative. No one is going to miss Thanedar, who is one of the biggest doofuses on the Hill (via Axios):
Don't expect a lot of public lamentations from House Democrats next month if Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) loses to his Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed primary opponent.
Why it matters: That would be a drastic deviation from recent DSA primary wins, which set off alarm bells among the Democratic establishment.
In the telling of both progressive and moderate House Democrats, Thanedar's anomalous political profile and the makeup of his district will make it difficult to extrapolate from the results of his race.
"It's somewhat of a unique circumstance," Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), a top ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), told Axios.
Another House Democrat, granted anonymity to offer a blunter assessment of how members are viewing the race, told Axios: "No one cares."
[…]
Progressives are also putting their backs into unseating Thanedar this cycle, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), DSA, Indivisible, the Working Families Party and Justice Democrats all endorsing McKinney.
Thanedar, a wealthy businessman who largely self-funds his campaigns, is backed by AIPAC, House Democratic leadership and both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and center-left New Democrat Coalition.
Between the lines: Unlike in New York, Colorado and elsewhere, House Democrats aren't looking at this race as a watershed fight between the DSA and Democratic establishment with national implications.
Another Democrat told Axios that no one is losing sleep worrying about Shri.
He’ll know his fate on August 4.