Abdul El-Sayed, Haley Stevens too close to call in Michigan Democratic Senate primary

Both Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed urged patience from their supporters early Wednesday morning while vote counting continued in Michigan's fiercely competitive Democratic US Senate primary.

The race pits Stevens, an establishment-backed four-term member of Congress, against El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official. Observers have called it a proxy battle over the future of the party.

As of 1:30 a.m., the race remained far too close to call, with El-Sayed holding a narrow but shrinking lead over Stevens.

The candidates spoke to core supporters at separate Detroit gatherings early Wednesday morning, expressing confidence about their chances and calling on Democrats to shift their focus to defeating Republican nominee Mike Rogers in November.

Joined by US Rep. Hillary Scholten and former US Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Stevens said she was "feeling good about this race," citing outstanding votes in Detroit, Flint, Muskegon and other regions of the state where she expected to do well.

"We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that's exactly what we've got."

El-Sayed, meanwhile, praised his supporters for pushing him toward a potential win in a race where he was heavily outspent by outside groups and overlooked by most establishment Democrats.

"That tells you about the kind of movement that we were able to inspire," he said, later adding, "We're still standing."

As of 1:30 a.m., El-Sayed was ahead in partial vote counts across much of west and mid-Michigan, notably Washtenaw, Kent, Kalamazoo and Ingham counties.

But Stevens was ahead in Oakland, Macomb, Saginaw and Genesee and held a commanding lead in preliminary returns out of Wayne County, which closed much of the early gap between the two candidates.

Mallory McMorrow, who suspended her campaign but was still on ballots Tuesday, took about 4% of the statewide vote. About 20% of the statewide vote had not yet been tallied.

Once all ballots are counted, El-Sayed urged Democrats to mend fences, because "whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the US Senate."

In the coming weeks, Stevens predicted Republicans "are going to do everything they can to throw all the dirt, all the mud, the kitchen sink at us."

"We're going to have to get ready to show Mike Rogers what a little stick it to 'em looks like," she said.

The Michigan race is among the most closely watched primaries in the country as voters decide who will advance to the general election against Republican Mike Rogers, a former member of Congress who ran uncontested in the GOP primary.

Though both Stevens and El-Sayed pledged to support the eventual Democratic nominee, the race grew increasingly contentious in recent weeks and laid bare party divisions that threaten to complicate otherwise favorable political winds for Democrats, who need to hold onto the Michigan seat if they hope to take back the majority from Republicans.

Primary polling had increasingly favored El-Sayed. But some surveys have also bolstered Stevens' claims that she'd fare better against Rogers this fall. Whoever advances will face another big challenge in one of the country's only true "toss-up" general election races.

Stevens is backed by prominent Michigan Democrats like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, US Sen. Gary Peters and former US Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who have argued a more moderate candidate will perform better with independents in a general election matchup.

Several Democratic primary voters told Bridge Michigan Tuesday that Whitmer's endorsement compelled them to vote for Stevens.

"I really trust our current governor's leadership," said David Taylor, a 28-year-old program director at a Kalamazoo nonprofit cultural center. "Especially among all the chaos in politics, she's a voice that we can listen to."

In the other corner, progressive leaders like US Sen. Bernie Sanders and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have rallied behind El-Sayed's campaign as a chance to expand their movement. They've also worked to quell doubts he can win in a purple state like Michigan.

Brian Will, a 29-year-old Detroit librarian, previously volunteered for El-Sayed during his gubernatorial race and said he appreciates El-Sayed's "moral clarity on the Israel-Palestine issue."

He said candidates who align with national progressive leaders like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will "more aggressively protect the people who are the most vulnerable" and provide an "alternative vision to the way things are."

"There are some politicians who recognize that the establishment is legitimately not meeting people's needs," Will said.

Outside groups have flooded voters' TV screens and mailboxes with issue ads, most of which were designed to benefit Stevens.

AdImpact estimated a total of $98.2 million in ad spending or reserved airtime through the end of July, making it the third most expensive Senate primary in US political history. On the Democratic side, outside groups accounted for 88% of all spending.

One of the biggest spenders: the United Democracy Project, a political action committee affiliated with the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. The group's ads touted Stevens and hammered El-Sayed, who is a vocal critic of the Israeli government and US involvement in Gaza.

El-Sayed, who has also long admonished corporate political influence in politics, has used the funding as a rallying cry, at times likening his campaign to the Biblical battle of David and Goliath.