Republicans get the Democrat they wanted as socialist Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary

After a grueling, messy campaign, a far-left progressive has taken on the Democratic establishment and won.

Abdul El-Sayed felled Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., to secure the Democratic nomination for Senate in what became one of the ugliest Democratic primary races in the country. El-Sayed will now face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who was uncontested in the GOP primary, in November.

A Republican operative told Fox News Digital: "Not only is Rogers a battle-tested candidate who has coalesced the support of Michigan's entire GOP ecosystem, but he will also be the beneficiary of Democrats' dysfunction come November."

Mike Rogers: "They are very radical, and they are way too extreme for Michigan"

Mike Rogers: "We feel confident we're going to beat either one of those candidates that come out of that race"

NRSC spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin: "Democrats position Mike Rogers to defeat socialism's newest standard-bearer in November"

Big money, the Democratic old guard and attacks on El-Sayed's Democratic Socialist leanings dominated the primary, and leave the last man standing on the Left bruised and battered heading into the showdown with Rogers.

The face-off to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who backed Stevens, is a must-win contest for Democrats and one of roughly a dozen general election Senate races expected to determine whether Republicans retain their narrow majority.

"Michigan... We won. I am so proud to be your Democratic nominee for US Senate. Let's win in November," El Sayed wrote in a social media post Wednesday morning, as he declared victory.

A couple of hours later, after the race was called, Stevens conceded: "I love Michigan and am so proud to have put up my hand to serve. I spoke with Abdul a few moments ago to offer him my full support as we work to defeat Mike Rogers this November."

At a news conference, El-Sayed preached unity. He said of Stevens: "She is one of the most committed public servants that you'll ever meet... whatever differences that we might have had in the primary, they pale in comparison to what unifies us."

As bitter and as divisive and as cynical as the campaign against us might have been, I want us to realize that there is so much more that unites us now, because the campaign that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump and their GOP MAGA allies are launching is already more bitter... All you got to do is look at the ads you're already watching on TV that started today. You know, they think they want to use my whole name against me. Mike. Listen, man, if you can't say the name, it's Abdulrahman. Keep the name out of your damn mouth. (El-Sayed)

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and a former Wayne County health director who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018, would become the nation's first Muslim senator if elected. He has made support for "Medicare for All" a major component of his campaign.

He has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war against Hamas, characterizing Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide" against Palestinians.

More than $80 million was spent on the primary, making it the most expensive Democratic Senate nomination contest in history. The largest spender was United Democracy Project, a political action committee aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"We all knew that they were going to spend their money. We didn't know they were going to spend $70 million of their money. We didn't know that they were going to outspend us $11 to $1. And yet we're still standing," El-Sayed highlighted in his speech.

Of the two candidates, Republicans wanted El-Sayed, and old-guard Democrats feared his victory the most. The GOP is leaning into the bloody primary, too, hoping that the battle damage will have staying power in the weeks ahead until November.

His surge in the polls sent Democrats scrambling to back Stevens, forcing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Peters off the sidelines. Peters told Fox News Digital: "But it doesn't happen if we lose Michigan."

Still, his policy positions are hallmarks of the progressive movement that have earned him endorsements from the likes of Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. And his victory marks another loss for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who backed Stevens.

Rogers: "I mean, Abdul, he has his own special sauce of crazy."