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Progressive Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan's Democratic primary for Senate

NPR · back to the audit

Abdul El-Sayed has narrowly won the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan, according to a race call by The Associated Press. The result marks a win for the progressive wing of the party, with El-Sayed defeating Rep. Haley Stevens, who had the backing of party centrists.

Vote counting went through the night and into the morning before the race was decided. Now El-Sayed will face former Rep. Mike Rogers this fall for the Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The match up is seen as a must-win for Democrats hoping to retake the chamber from Republican control.

"We know that to defeat Trumpism we have to defeat Trump's handpicked candidate," El-Sayed told NPR's Morning Edition shortly before the race was called.

His platform includes embracing Medicare for all and cutting the influence of corporate money in politics. During his campaign he highlighted and criticized the money being spent against him by an organization aligned with the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.

He attracted the biggest stars on the political left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who traveled to Michigan to campaign with him.

Michigan is a swing state. After Joe Biden won Michigan in 2020, Donald Trump carried the state in 2024, even as Democrat Elissa Slotkin narrowly won an open Senate seat that had been held by Democrats.