Progressive Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic primary for the US Senate early Wednesday, narrowly defeating moderate US Rep. Haley Stevens in a race that will send him into a closely watched general election against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, with control of the Senate potentially at stake.
El-Sayed secured the nomination by less than a percentage point, a considerably tighter margin than pre-election polling had indicated. His victory represents a major breakthrough for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in the battleground state after his unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial bid, when he lost the Democratic primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by 21 percentage points.
A former Wayne County health director, El-Sayed has been a prominent critic of Israel. He has accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide,” described the Israeli government as “evil” as Hamas, and called for an end to all US assistance to Israel. During the primary campaign, AIPAC’s political network spent $32 million backing Stevens.
The result quickly drew support from national Democratic leaders. Former Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris urged Democrats to unite behind El-Sayed, sending a fundraising email asking supporters to donate. Harris said contributions would be split between El-Sayed’s campaign and her political action committee.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson after Johnson said Democrats were displaying “disdain for America” and embracing “the failed, dangerous, deadly path of communism” following El-Sayed’s victory.
Mamdani rejected that characterization, saying Johnson’s comments showed “how deeply out of touch the Republican Party is with the concerns of working-class Americans.”
The Michigan Senate contest is expected to become one of the country’s most competitive races, with El-Sayed and Rogers competing for a seat that could influence which party controls the U.S. Senate after the November election.
