Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary in progressive 'shockwave'

LANSING — Defying the Democratic establishment and an onslaught of outside spending against him, Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won Michigan's fiercely contested US Senate primary and will advance to the general election against Republican Mike Rogers.

The Associated Press called the race for El-Sayed Wednesday at 9:56 a.m., declaring him the winner over Democratic rival Haley Stevens. He led by 1% with 99% of all ballots counted.

Speaking earlier Wednesday, before the race was called, El-Sayed thanked supporters for joining what he called a movement "built on the foundation of what this government was supposed to be in the first place, government of the people, by the people."

El-Sayed ran on a progressive platform promising universal health care and rejection of corporate donations. His victory is a watershed moment for the insurgent wing of the Democratic Party, which viewed the Michigan race as a proving ground for progressives' viability in competitive swing states.

"Shockwaves are being felt across the political world," Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a statement. "Abdul's primary victory sends a signal to every other Democratic politician – if you fight powerful interests, you can win."

Mallory McMorrow, who suspended her campaign for the Democratic nomination last month but remained on the ballot, took 4% of the statewide vote. Shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, she announced El-Sayed had her "full endorsement and support," urging Michigan Democrats to unite after what's been a "brutal primary."

Rogers is a formidable candidate who only narrowly lost a 2024 US Senate bid to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. A former member of Congress, he has blasted El-Sayed as a far-left socialist and suggested he'd be easier to defeat than Stevens this fall, an argument she amplified in the primary.

"El-Sayed's radical agenda … is a direct attack on Michigan families," said Chris Gustafson, communications director for the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC aligned with Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Greg Manz, senior communications advisor for the Michigan Republican Party, said the choice in November "is crystal clear: common sense or communist crazy."

A July 31 analysis from AdImpact estimated a total of $98.2 million in ad spending or reservations so far, making it the third most expensive Senate primary in US political history. On the Democratic side, outside spending 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.

The common refrain by Stevens and her supporters came down to general election electability: A more moderate candidate will perform better with moderates and independents in a general election matchup, they argued, implying that nominating El-Sayed could cost Democrats the Senate seat and a chance at flipping the chamber's majority.

El-Sayed has said he doesn't consider himself a Democratic socialist and rejects the notion that his views are extreme in today's political climate.