Abdul El-Sayed Triumphs In Michigan In Major Victory For Progressives

"Former public health official Abdul El-Sayed is projected to win the Democratic primary for Michigan\u2019s U.S. Senate seat, defying more than $50 million worth of super PAC spending supporting his opponent to claim one of the biggest victories in the history of the modern progressive movement.\n\nEl-Sayed topped moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and will now face former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee, in November in a major test of whether progressives can triumph in the nation\u2019s most critical battleground states.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nThe Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, with El-Sayed leading Stevens, 48.5% to 47.5%. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who officially dropped out of the race last month, nonetheless earned 4% of the vote.\n\nThe contest was unexpectedly close. Polls in the weeks leading up to the primary had pointed to a double-digit win for El-Sayed, but Stevens turned in an unexpectedly strong performance in many parts of rural Michigan where progressive candidates have won in the past.\n\nStevens won by a significant margin in Detroit, but El-Sayed racked up large margins in many of the state\u2019s college towns, held his own in the suburbs, and dominated in Grand Rapids, the state\u2019s second-biggest population center.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nProgressives will nonetheless count his narrow victory as a stinging rebuke to the establishment of both parties and proof of both the popularity of a populist economic message and of the unpopularity of unblinking support for Israel within the Democratic Party.\n\n| candidate | votes | pct |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Haley Stevens<br>Dem | 643 | 48.5% |\n| Abdul El-Sayed<br>Dem | 579 | 43.7% |\n| Mallory McMorrow<br>Dem | 103 | 7.8% |\n\nUpdated\n\nAug 5, 2026, 5:13 PM\n\n#### Ballots counted\n\n200K100K\n\n#### Vote Share\n\nEl-Sayed\n\nStevens\n\n50\n\n60\n\n70%\n\nBallots countedUncounted votesCounty leader\n\n2026 Mich. dem Primary\n\nU.S. Senate\n\n!AP logoestimates\n\n99% of votes counted\n\nAbdul El-Sayed wins. AP race call at 1:54 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2026.\n\n| candidate | votes | pct |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Abdul El-Sayed<br>Dem | 740,963 | 48.5% |\n| Haley Stevens<br>Dem | 726,065 | 47.5% |\n| Mallory McMorrow<br>Dem | 61,252 | 4.0% |\n\nUpdated\n\nAug 5, 2026, 5:13 PM\n\nA brash and unapologetic personality, El-Sayed campaigned with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and summarized his campaign with a pithy three-part slogan: \u201cMoney out of politics, money in your pocket and Medicare for all.\u201d He defined himself in part by his enemies, regularly noting a super PAC with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $30 million opposing his candidacy.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nAppearing on MSNOW on Tuesday morning, El-Sayed said his campaign was about more than simply changing the Democratic Party, and he reached out to those who had backed Stevens.\n\n\u201cThis is not about the future of a party,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is about the future of the people of the state of Michigan who deserve to know that their roads are competent, deserve to know where they\u2019ll get their healthcare when they need it, who deserve to know that their kids go to great schools.\u201d\n\nHe added: \u201cThis is a big movement. And in order for us to build together, we\u2019re going to have to be able to come together around the things that unite us. It\u2019s the feeling that we get when we look our kids in the eye. It\u2019s the feeling that we get when we think about what our country ought to be. And it\u2019s the opportunity we have to take on all that Donald Trump has done to corrupt our country and to corrupt our government.\n\nAdvertisement\n\n!Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, visits Eastern Market on Tuesday in Detroit.\n\nAbdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, visits Eastern Market on Tuesday in Detroit.\n\nJulia Demaree Nikhinson/AP\n\nStevens, the preferred candidate of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, proved to be an awkward-at-best fit for the Democratic primary electorate. A longtime ally of AIPAC, she favored unquestioned weapons transfers to Israel, a nation most Democratic voters believe is committing genocide. She welcomed corporate PAC donations and tried to focus her campaign on revitalizing manufacturing in Michigan.\n\nStevens also attracted the near-unanimous support of the local party establishment, with outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, former Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer all endorsing her and insisting she gave the party the best chance to win in November.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nAll of those leaders quickly rallied behind El-Sayed on Wednesday morning.\n\n\u201cAbdul El-Sayed has run an energetic campaign that inspired thousands of Michiganders across the state, with a clear focus on lowering costs and standing up for working families,\u201d Schumer and Gillibrand said in a joint statement. \u201cDemocrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate. We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.\n\n!Rep. Haley Stevens speaks to members of the media after casting her ballot at a polling location in Birmingham, Michigan, on Tuesday.\n\nRep. Haley Stevens speaks to members of the media after casting her ballot at a polling location in Birmingham, Michigan, on Tuesday.\n\nSarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images\n\nRepublicans will welcome an El-Sayed victory, believing he will be the easier candidate to defeat in November. Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC, released a digital ad shortly after his victory attacking him for old statements he made questioning whether police officers needed to carry guns and suggesting he would not have spent state money enforcing federal immigration law.\n\nAdvertisement\n\n\u201cFrom calling to disarm the police to his close ties to extremist figures, Abdul El-Sayed is uniquely dangerous and unqualified,\u201d said Alex Latcham, the group\u2019s executive director.\n\nBut the political environment distinctly favors Democrats, and El-Sayed has already declared his intention to attack Rogers harshly.\n\n\u201cHe generally has t"