Biography

Donavan McKinney was born on June 16, 1992, and raised on the northeast side of Detroit near Seven Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue. He grew up mostly raised by his grandmother while his mother worked, and spent five hours every day on public transportation commuting to and from Renaissance High School across the city. His childhood experiences of poverty, instability, and reliance on public systems shaped his politics and his commitment to his community.

McKinney earned his BA from the University of Michigan and was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives in 2022, representing the 11th District — one of the poorest districts in Michigan, in the heart of Detroit. In the Legislature, he secured $600 million in federal funds to replace lead pipes in Detroit and surrounding suburbs — a concrete, life-changing victory for communities that have been poisoned by aging infrastructure.

In April 2025, he announced his campaign to challenge incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar in Michigan's 13th Congressional District — a deeply blue seat covering Detroit and nearby communities. McKinney charged that Thanedar 'has more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk than people like us,' and called for authentic working-class representation in one of the nation's poorest congressional districts. He was quickly endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, the Working Families Party, and Michigan labor organizations. Prediction markets give him an 80% chance of winning the August 4 primary.

2026 House Campaign

McKinney is challenging two-term incumbent Shri Thanedar, a pharmaceutical millionaire who self-funded $10 million in his 2018 gubernatorial run. McKinney's case is direct: the 13th District — among the poorest congressional districts in the nation — deserves someone who has actually lived its struggles, not a multimillionaire who moved to Detroit to run for office.

He has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, the Working Families Party, Justice Democrats, and Michigan labor unions. Prediction markets give him an 80% probability of winning the August 4 Democratic primary in this safely blue seat. If he wins, he effectively wins the seat.

'I was born next to smokestacks,' McKinney said at his campaign launch. 'We moved 13 times as a kid. Sometimes it was an apartment, sometimes a family member's house. Sometimes it was our own car. But wherever it was, my mom and grandma made sure it felt like home. I've never forgotten my roots, or the true purpose of why I serve: to always put the people first.'

Medicare for All
Lead pipe replacement
Workers & unions
Affordable housing
Public transit
Economic justice for Detroit

In the press