An Indian American entrepreneur and scientist Shri Thanedar who was one among several candidates in the Democratic party primary for Michigan governor finished third in Tuesday's Democratic primary which was won by former legislative leader Gretchen Whitmer.

Thanedar, an entrepreneur from Ann Harbor, polled 199,574 votes, while Whitmer received 586,074 votes.

Abdul El-Sayed, who was endorsed by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, was second with 340,560 votes.

Another Indian-American Suneel Gupta who was on the ballot in Michigan likewise finished third on Tuesday. He fell short by more than 5,000 votes in Michigan's 11th congressional district. Gupta received 19,149 votes whereas eventual nominee Haley Stevens received 24,232 votes.

Thanedar, who grew up in Belgaum, in the south Indian state of Karnataka, self-financed his campaign to the tune of $11 million.

His website says Thanedar purchased or sold eight different businesses - many of the chemical testing analytic firms.

"Taking this country back from Donald Trump - that's job one," Gupta, who holds a law degree from Northwestern Law School and an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the Kellogg School of Management, said in one of his campaign advertisements.

He founded Rise, a healthcare technology company he set up, with the help of his brother Sanjay Gupta, who is a physician and television personality.

By Sowmya Sangam