Abdul El-Sayed scores narrow win in Senate primary; his left-wing agenda to get tested in November

Abdul El‑Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate after a hard‑fought contest that delivered the party’s left flank a marquee win — and immediately raised questions about whether the left-wing favorite can build a broad enough coalition to prevail in November.

The race was called for Mr. El-Sayed roughly 12 hours after the polls closed due to a drawn-out count in Wayne County, home to Detroit.

Mr. El‑Sayed now heads into a statewide showdown with former Rep. Mike Rogers, potentially determining whether Republicans retain the Senate majority.

The contest will also test the strength of the party’s socialist wing and its argument that the political system has put the interests of the wealthy and foreign nations ahead of working people.

“Up and down the state, what you hear is, ‘I wonder how I can afford my rent. I wonder how I can afford my groceries. I don’t know what will happen if I get sick because I can’t afford my deductible,’” Mr. El‑Sayed said early Wednesday morning as votes continued to trickle in. “We are not a purple state. We are a state in need of a movement to take our politics back.”

Republicans pounced.

Joe Gruters, chair of the Republican National Committee, likened Mr. El‑Sayed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying he “embodies the socialist takeover that wants to do away with the American way of life by abolishing ICE, opening borders, raising taxes, and sympathizing with terrorists.”

“In a race that pits common sense against crazy, veteran and former FBI agent Mike Rogers will defeat El‑Sayed this November, end 32 years of one-party Democrat rule, and get Michigan working again,” he said.

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, released a digital ad branding Mr. El‑Sayed “the most radical Senate candidate in America.” It used his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El‑Sayed, and paired it with a clip of him declaring, “I’m pretty damn dangerous.”

The ad accused Mr. El‑Sayed of being a terrorist sympathizer and backing tax increases that would hit “Michigan waitresses, delivery drivers, and seniors on Social Security.”

Hours earlier, Mr. El‑Sayed mixed sharp jabs at Mr. Rogers with a broader appeal for party unity.

“Mike, I know you’re listening. Mike, we are coming for you,” Mr. El‑Sayed said.

Mr. El‑Sayed said Mr. Rogers suffers from a political identity crisis.

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“On the one hand, he was from the neocon era that had us fighting unnecessary wars in Iraq, swore up and down he can never support Donald Trump,” he said. “Then went to Mar‑a‑Lago when he decided to run for Senate the first time, and licked all the boots until he finally got that Trump endorsement.”

“So he’s both the worst of the neocon era and the worst of the MAGA era, and I just think that’s the worst of all, because at least you should know who you are,” he said. “But I promise you, Mike, by the time we are done with you, all of Michigan is gonna know who you are. You are a corporate sellout.”

Mr. El‑Sayed’s victory is a setback for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who endorsed Ms. Stevens and is angling to become majority leader if Democrats take control of the chamber. It also is a major loss for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which poured tens of millions of dollars into the race in an effort to stop Mr. El‑Sayed.

On the flip side, it delivered a high‑profile win for far-left leaders Sen. Bernard Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez, who campaigned aggressively for Mr. El‑Sayed in the final stretch. It was also a win for hardline left-wing activists who backed Mr. El-Sayed, such as Twitch star Hasan Piker.

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The left viewed the contest as a proving ground for its worldview in a battleground state — and for its calls to end U.S. military aid to Israel. Mr. El-Sayed also vowed to push for Medicare for All, reroute U.S. foreign assistance to prioritize domestic needs, and curb what he views as the corrupting influence of money in politics.

Republicans see the state as one of their few pickup opportunities. Democrats must test whether Mr. El‑Sayed’s foreign‑policy views — and the left-wing coalition that powered his primary win — can carry a statewide race in a purple state.

The outcome will also shape the early contours of 2028, when potential left‑wing presidential contenders, notably Ms. Ocasio‑Cortez, are expected to point to Mr. El‑Sayed’s success as evidence that their insurgent message can win in battlegrounds such as Michigan, which is slated to be the fifth stop on the nomination calendar. A strong showing by Mr. El-Sayed in November could supercharge that argument.

The Democratic primary largely became a proxy fight over the future of the party’s foreign policy.

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Mr. El‑Sayed, who is a Muslim, argued that U.S. support for Israel is out of step with younger voters and morally unbound. Ms. Stevens, a fourth‑term congresswoman from suburban Detroit, has been a pro-Israel lawmaker, but has centered her message on manufacturing, the economy, and her reputation as a pragmatic legislator.

She pitched herself as an ordinary Michigander familiar with the affordability pressures facing working‑class families, and as the party’s best bet to defend the seat that Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is vacating.

Mr. El‑Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants and a Rhodes Scholar, ran against what he cast as a corrupt political system that has shafted the working class. He repeatedly highlighted the support Ms. Stevens received from outside groups, including AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, which poured more than $30 million into the race.

Liberals argued the spending showed how aggressively pro‑Israel groups were trying to shape Democratic primaries and policy.

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Despite the lopsided spending, Mr. El‑Sayed remained competitive throughout, drawing strong support from Arab‑American organizers and younger voters who have become increasingly vocal about Gaza and U.S. military aid to Israel.

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Seth McLaughlin

smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com

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