Μake us preferred on Google DETROIT—Establishment Democrats sought to build a firewall in Michigan against a rising progressive and socialist groundswell in their party that they fear will hurt their chances in competitive races in November’s midterm elections.
It didn’t work.
Progressive firebrand Abdul El-Sayed narrowly beat four-term Rep. Haley Stevens to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in this battleground state, according to the Associated Press. His victory in Tuesday’s primary could hurt his party’s prospects of winning control of the Senate this fall, according to late-July polling in the state.
With 99% of the expected vote tallied, El-Sayed led Stevens 48.5% to 47.5%, the AP reported.
Supporters of U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed hold campaign signs during a rally in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., July, 31, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
The fight between El-Sayed, a former local public health official, and Stevens served as a referendum on the party’s identity and how it can win more competitive elections. The establishment wing has asserted that battleground districts and states are won by wooing independent voters with moderate policy ideas, while the far left has argued that voters are eager for dramatic change amid widespread skepticism of government and widening economic disparity.
Michigan Republicans nominated former Rep. Mike Rogers , who narrowly lost the state’s 2024 Senate race. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters , a Democrat who chose not to seek a third term.
Talking to reporters Wednesday, El-Sayed said he spoke to Stevens earlier in the day and they are united in trying to beat Rogers. He showed no signs of pivoting to a more centrist message as he turned his focus to Rogers.
“Mike Rogers is a guy whose politics and vision and perspective are old,” he said. “Mike Rogers is a guy who has never shied away from a corporation he could do a favor for.”
Supporters of U.S. Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed march with a banner during a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., August 2, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
The Republican National Committee welcomed El-Sayed to the general election by comparing him to New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani .
“Abdul El-Sayed is Michigan’s Mamdani and embodies the socialist takeover that wants to do away with the American way of life by abolishing ICE, opening borders, raising taxes, and sympathizing with terrorists,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said. “In a race that pits common sense against crazy, veteran and former FBI agent Mike Rogers will defeat El-Sayed.”
In a social-media post, President Trump called the development “great news” for the Republican Party, while labeling El-Sayed a “Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel” and noting polling ahead of the voting was way off. “Now, the Democrats crazy policies will only get worse!” he wrote.
El-Sayed’s victory is the most significant yet for the party’s far left in a primary season where Democratic socialist wins had previously been limited to deeply blue districts.
The race was infused with tensions over how to confront Trump, the role of big-dollar campaign money and the U.S. relationship with Israel. The outcome has potential ramifications for control of the Senate and the 2028 Democratic presidential primary when Michigan is expected to vote fifth .
El-Sayed’s pledge to not take campaign contributions with links to corporations could put him at a financial disadvantage in the general election, unless he is able to raise significant small-dollar donations from inside and outside Michigan.
His win came even though the race’s ad spending was overwhelmingly lopsided in favor of Stevens. Her campaign and its allies spent $64.7 million this year, compared with $7.5 million by El-Sayed and his allies, data from AdImpact show. The race was the third-most expensive Senate primary on record and the second-most expensive so far in the 2025-2026 cycle, AdImpact says, behind Texas.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens speaks during the U.S. Senate debate with U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) moderated by Roop Raj from Fox 2 at Fox 2 Studios in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., July 27, 2026. Robin Buckson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
A group with ties to the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which backed Stevens, was by far the biggest ad spender, at more than $32 million. The outcomes made the group one of the contest’s biggest losers following its biggest campaign investment this year.
A Michigan loss in November for Democrats would make it harder for the party to net a gain of four Senate seats to flip control of the chamber. Trump won the state by 1.4 percentage points in 2024, and its Senate race is rated a tossup by nonpartisan analysts.
A survey by Michigan-based pollster Epic MRA the last week of July showed Stevens beating Rogers by 2 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup, while Rogers topped El-Sayed by three points.
Results showed El-Sayed drawing strength from voters in some of the state’s wealthiest counties, while Stevens did best in rural areas. Stevens won the Detroit area’s three core counties: Wayne County, home to the city, plus Macomb and Oakland.
El-Sayed had support from the Democratic Socialists of America movement, a rising faction within the party that Trump and Republicans have branded as “communism” and are using as a line of attack against all Democrats. Republicans say they are keen on running against El-Sayed, arguing his left-wing views will turn off swing voters.
If elected in November, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim senator. His first attempt at statewide office in Michigan, in 2018, ended with him being beaten by 22 percentage points in a Democratic gubernatorial primary by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer .
The El-Sayed win shows the party’s leftward shift is taking place beyond coastal and deeply blue enclaves, such as in New York and Colorado, where DSA-aligned candidates have defeated more centrist incumbents in Democratic primaries. It also adds wind to the sails of progressive and DSA candidates in coming primaries, including those with similar dynamics in Wisconsin and Minnesota next week.
El-Sayed was backed by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota—all progressive icons—as well as the United Auto Workers.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) rallies with U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) during a campaign rally in Ferndale, Michigan, U.S., July 25, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-NY) and U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rally during a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. July, 18, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
He campaigned with Hasan Piker, an Israel critic whose opponents accuse of antisemitism.
Centrists in the party argue that victories by the progressive wing could hurt Democratic chances of scoring major gains in an otherwise favorable election environment. Trump’s job-approval rating hit a record low in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, and gas prices are high amid growing concerns about the war with Iran.
The result was also a setback for Whitmer, who endorsed Stevens and is sometimes mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate.
Stevens was also backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), among other establishment figures, as well as by some unions, pro-Israel groups and Emily’s List, which supports abortion-rights candidates.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks with the media about Ukraine as he walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 28, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee
The congresswoman described herself as a workhorse competing against a show horse and argued her opponent—a veteran podcaster—was more interested in celebrity status than in helping Michigan.
A far-left candidate for the U.S. House was also declared a winner by the AP on Wednesday in a heavily Democratic district anchored by Detroit. State Rep. Donavan McKinney, a Democratic Socialists of America candidate, beat Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar. The McKinney victory, in what was another proxy fight between the party’s progressive and establishment wings, will help the DSA grow its ranks in Congress. He is expected to easily win the general election.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rallies with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-NY), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), UAW President Shawn Fain, and Michigan State Representative Donavan McKinney, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. July, 18, 2026. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
In the contest to succeed term-limited Whitmer, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican Rep. John James are set to face each other in November after winning their primaries. The general-election matchup is rated as leaning Democratic by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
