Thanedar challenger Hollier suspends campaign for US House of Representatives

Democrat Adam Hollier says he is suspending his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives and his attempt to oust first-term U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit.

Hollier’s decision came after he lost his appeal of his disqualification from the Wayne County ballot last week after Thanedar formally challenged his nomination petitions.

“I’m just disappointed. A lot of people put their trust in me and trusted me to be their federal representative in Congress, and I had hoped to do that. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do that,” Hollier told The Detroit News.

“I am now fully committed to supporting the organizations and people who supported me during this time, and Michigan is critical to that. There are two seats we absolutely must win – a U.S. Senate seat and the presidency – and I know that black voters in Detroit are key to that. And that’s what I’m going to focus on.”

Hollier’s withdrawal from the race leaves three Democrats on the primary ballot: the self-funded Thanedar, attorney Shakira Hawkins and Detroit City Council member Mary Waters, a former state legislator who received a key endorsement from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Thursday.

Hollier, a former state senator who served in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s cabinet, launched his campaign in October. In recent months, he has secured the support of a number of notable elected officials, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, former U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence and Congressional Black Caucus Chairman U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, as well as numerous state legislators and local elected officials.

CBC officials and others said they hope to restore African-American representation in Congress to the majority-black city of Detroit, which was lost for the first time in nearly 70 years when Thanedar, an Indian-American, won a nine-candidate primary in the 13th Congressional District in 2022 with 28%, while Hollier came in second with 24%.

In late April, Thanedar challenged Hollier’s nomination petitions, claiming that some signatures were forged, others were duplicates, and many had registered as voters outside their constituency.

The Wayne County clerk disqualified Hollier from the ballot because he did not have the required 1,000 valid signatures. He appealed to the Secretary of State’s office, but the county’s elections office denied his request Thursday.

“No one is above the law, whether backed by the rich or the powerful. When I saw hundreds of forged signatures submitted by his campaign team that did not come from his constituency, I could not sit still and demanded the integrity of the electoral process,” Thanedar said in a statement on Sunday.

“I urge Hollier’s supporters to join our fight for racial justice, economic equality and social justice to improve the lives of people in the district.”

Hollier has spent the last few days calling donors and supporters to tell them that he will end his campaign after seven months and will not run for the seat by mail or as an independent.

“The message I wanted to convey was that people wanted a better representative in Congress, and that’s why I ran,” he said. “I think the congressman challenged my positions because he saw the momentum we were building, and that’s why we’re here.”

Hollier said he is unsure if he will run again, but has not ruled it out. He is still working on his next steps.

“I’ve always chosen to serve, right? From my time in the Army to my time as a senator to my time in the governor’s cabinet, this community means everything to me,” Hollier said. “And I’m going to look for more ways to get involved and help people in need. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do in the next little while.”

Several Democratic state lawmakers who had previously supported Hollier have now switched to Waters, including state Rep. Tyrone Carter of Detroit, who leads the Detroit Caucus.

“He ran last time and came in second. This time was probably a great opportunity, but he got disqualified. Sometimes you just have to let it go,” Carter said. “I’ve run for office a few times and lost. Sometimes you just have to move on to the next thing.”

When asked why he did not support Thanedar, Carter said the congressman never approached him as chairman of the Detroit Caucus to talk about the needs of the community or ask how he could help.

“It’s not a question of whether he’s a good person or a bad person. I judge a person by his ability to do the job,” Carter said.

In response to Duggan’s support for Waters, Thanedar noted that he has won votes in each of his elections in Detroit.

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