Top Democrats set aside qualms and embrace progressive Abdul El-Sayed

Leading Democrats quickly papered over whatever qualms they had about progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed after his win in the Michigan Senate primary was confirmed on Wednesday, instead welcoming the former public health official as their champion against the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers.
"Democrats 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," the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senate campaign arm, said in a joint statement.
Schumer was among a long list of Democratic establishment figures who had rallied behind Stevens in the weeks before the vote, as polls showed her trailing El-Sayed. He ultimately prevailed but by a far slimmer margin than data indicated, winning by 48.5% to Stevens's 47.5%.
"There's a lot of passion and energy in these primaries, and that's a good thing. Democrats are ready to beat Republicans across the state," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had endorsed Stevens.
"The choice this November is simple: common sense or complete insanity," Rogers said. The former congressman blamed Democrats - who have held both of Michigan's Senate seats since 2001 - for job losses in manufacturing, while saying El-Sayed "doesn't represent a vision for the future. He's leading a movement grounded in ideological fanaticism."
Brian Romick, president of the Democratic Majority for Israel Pac, called El-Sayed's victory an indicator that "there is clearly strong anti-establishment energy this cycle, but no one should count pro-Israel Democrats out". "While El-Sayed's razor-thin victory in Michigan is disappointing, it was hardly the sweeping triumph he predicted or a mandate for his views," Romick said, noting that Stevens lost only narrowly.