Michigan 2026 Poll: Abdul El-Sayed Leads Haley Stevens for Democratic US Senate Nomination

# Michigan 2026 Poll: Abdul El-Sayed Leads Haley Stevens for Democratic US Senate Nomination

July 30th, 2026

A new Emerson College Polling/WLNS/WOODTV survey of the Michigan Democratic Primary for US Senate finds Abdul El-Sayed leading Rep. Haley Stevens, 54% to 39%. Six percent are undecided. Including whom undecided voters lean toward, 57% support El-Sayed and 41% Stevens.

"There is a clear age divide in the Democratic Primary: voters under 50 break for El-Sayed by 42 percentage points, 67% to 25%, and that gap tightens among voters in their 50s to a 12-point lead, and voters over 60 flip to Stevens by a 14-point margin, 53% to 39%," Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

Independents break for El-Sayed by a 27-point margin, 60% to 33%, while Democrats break for El-Sayed by nine points, 50% to 41%.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer holds a 62% approval rating among Democratic Primary voters, a 17-point drop since April, when it was 79%. Among Democratic primary voters who approve of Governor Whitmer, 49% support Stevens and 42% El-Sayed. Among those who disapprove, 78% support El-Sayed and 17% Stevens.

**Methodology**

The Emerson College Polling national survey was conducted July 26-27, 2026. The sample of likely Democratic Primary voters (n=700) has a credibility interval, similar to a poll's margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3.7 percent.