DETROIT—Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a massive victory for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state.
The real test of El-Sayed’s and progressives’ strength will now come in a November matchup against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination. The seat is pivotal to Democrats’ chances of flipping the Senate, and El-Sayed will face the challenge of uniting a divided Democratic base after a bruising primary.
The race remained tight throughout Tuesday night, with a winner not declared until early Wednesday. In his final remarks at a primary night party before the race was called, El-Sayed said “tomorrow we begin to mend fences.”
El-Sayed's campaign said Stevens called to concede Wednesday.
In a statement, Stevens said she would back El-Sayed’s candidacy.
“I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election,” she said.
Stevens added, “This was a thorough and rigorous campaign that brought out the full span of views within the Democratic Party - and that is why we have primaries.”
El-Sayed’s win represents a significant shift for the Democratic Party; in 2018 he lost the gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by 21 percentage points.
El-Sayed, a former health official, campaigned on “Medicare for All,” halting military aid to Israel and campaign finance reform. He had support from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who framed the race as a grassroots-focused movement and a broader fight against the establishment and big-money spending.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, another progressive leader who endorsed El-Sayed, said the race “should be a wake-up call to the Washington Democratic establishment.”
“He was running against a lot of Washington insiders as well as parts of the Michigan Democratic establishment. And he won,” said Van Hollen. “That's an incredible story.”
“Congratulations to him,” said Sen. Gary Peters, the Michigan Democrat whose retirement spurred the contentious primary to replace him. Peters had endorsed Stevens.
Michigan Is a Must-Win Senate Race for Democrats
The race will help decide which party controls the chamber in the last two years of President Donald Trump’s term. Those stakes have added heat to the rivalry, with moderates arguing that El-Sayed would have a harder time than Stevens against a Republican in the general election.Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience.
El-Sayed cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda.
While the candidate has said he is not a democratic socialist, he found support from some of the group’s members. That included Melat Kiros, who recently beat a longtime incumbent in a Democratic primary for a Denver-based House seat and was at El-Sayed’s watch party. Also there was Hasan Piker, a progressive and controversial influencer online.