Democrat Shri Thanedar a Belagavi-origin and self-made entrepreneur became the first Indian American from the state of Michigan, pipping Republican candidate Martell Bivings.
He won 84,096 votes, while Mr. Bivings received more than 27,366 votes.
Mr Thanedar, 67, currently represents the third district in the Michigan House. He defeated a crowded field of Democrats running for the open seat, including state Rep. Adam Hollier, Portia Roberson, John Conyers III and Sherry Gay-Dagnogo.
Shri Thanedar, originally from Belagavi, who has experienced a rollercoaster of business successes and failures, is running for Michigan Democratic governor in 2018, saying he is best suited to help the state in part because of his own comeback story.
Dr. Shri Thanedar immigrated to the United States in 1979 from Belagavi, India to obtain his Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from the University of Akron (1982) after receiving a Masters Degree at the University of Bombay (1977). He then worked as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Michigan (1982-1984). Shri worked as a Polymer Synthesis Chemist and Project Leader at the Petrolite Corporation in St. Louis, MO (1984-1990).
In 1990, Shri worked at and then purchased a three-employee service company called Chemir. Under Shri’s ownership, the company went from $150,000 in annual sales and three employees to $63 million in annual sales and over 400 employees, a trend that has followed him throughout his successful career. During his professional career, Shri purchased or sold eight different businesses. He is skilled in turning around troubled companies.
Shri’s story began halfway around the world in Mirapur Galli, Shahpur in Belagavi. Growing up as one of six children in a low-income family, he was taught about the importance of education and the need for financial independence. He was enrolled in the local public school system and excelled due in large part to the wisdom installed in me by my mother Sulochana. He used to stay with his family in Mirapur Galli, Shahpur.
He had scored a meager 55% marks in his SSLC (from Chintamsnrao high school ) and had got a job at the age of 18 itself in the State bank of India in Bijapur. But he wanted to do his MSc. But the principal of the Dharwad did not allow him to do so. He had to go up to the Vice-Chancellor for the same and at last, he got the permission. But the bank denied him leave for his exams for 15 days and he decided to leave Bijapur and came to Dharwad for his exams. He slept for only one hour for 8 days and finished his studies. Even before his exams got over he got to know that he had been fired from his job at the bank. His book ही श्रीची इच्छा (English: This Is Shri’s Wish) was a bestseller which is a memoir by Dr. Shrinivas Thanedar.