{"id":6209,"date":"2026-08-05T14:09:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6209"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:09:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:09:05","slug":"far-left-michigan-dem-abdul-el-sayed-beats-rep-haley-stevens-in-record-breaking-senate-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6209","title":{"rendered":"Far-left Michigan Dem Abdul El-Sayed beats Rep. Haley Stevens in record-breaking Senate primary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DETROIT \u2014\u00a0Dr. Abdul El-Sayedwas projected Wednesday to defeat Rep. Haley Stevens in a nail-biting Michigan Democratic Senate primary, giving progressives their most significant victory yet in this midterm election cycle. <\/p>\n

Read more Hasan Piker has foul-mouthed meltdown over tight Michigan Senate primary: \u2018Islamophobic pieces of s\u2013t\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

El-Sayed \u2014 who championed radical left-wing economic and social reforms, including so-called \u201cMedicare for all,\u201d abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), hiking taxes and ending US aid to Israel \u2014 was called as the winner by the Associated Press and other outlets shortly before 10 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n

With 99% of the expected vote tallied, El-Sayed led Stevens by fewer than 15,000 votes out of more than 1.5 million cast, an unexpectedly close result after a series of surveys in the final week before primary day showed him leading by double-digits. <\/p>\n

More than $80 million was spent on the Michigan race, making it the most expensive Senate Democratic primary ever, according to AdImpact.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed, who was walloped by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, will now face former Rep. Mike Rogers in the November general election, which Democrats see as a must-win for their hopes of taking control of the Senate next year. <\/p>\n

It is also one of the first big breakthroughs of the far-left flank of the party outside liberal strongholds this cycle. <\/p>\n

It occurred in a state that was the birthplace of the \u201cuncommitted\u201d movement against Dem former President Joe Biden in 2024 and that had backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the 2016 Dem presidential primary.<\/p>\n

Should he go on to win the general election, El-Sayed will become the first Muslim elected to the Senate in US history. At his watch party in metro Detroit, home to a large concentration of Arab American and Muslim voters, several backers were seen performing Islamic prayer.<\/p>\n

Rogers said the bruising Democratic primary would hamper his challenger in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever comes out of it is going to have a coalition problem. Remember, voting starts in about five or six weeks. We\u2019re in an election cycle now,\u201d Rogers told The Post hours before El-Sayed\u2019s primary win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been building toward that day. They\u2019ve been fighting each other and moving further and further to the left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s primaries saw other victories for progressives, with \u201cSquad\u201d Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), state Rep. Donavan McKinney, and Bernie Sanders-backed\u00a0William Lawrence\u00a0winning.<\/p>\n

One major blemish on the left\u2019s night was Rep. Wesley Bell\u2019s (D-Mo.) commanding win over Cori Bush in Missouri\u2019s St. Louis-based House race.<\/p>\n

Read more Crazy-eyed teen dressed as clown allegedly killed elderly man \u2014 and whispered \u2018I\u2019ve been looking for you\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

In many ways, the contest between El-Sayed and Stevens was a proxy battle between the mainstream factions of the Democratic Party and the far left, both of which contend that their side is more electable.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed took positions such as backing \u201cMedicare for All\u201d without any co-pays or deductibles, abolishing ICE, making elections publicly funded, imposing an arms embargo on Israel and freezing property-tax assessments on individuals 65 and older who own homes.<\/p>\n

Those positions won him favor with controversial figures such as streamer Hasan Piker and the Democratic Socialists of America, though technically El-Sayed considers himself a capitalist and isn\u2019t a member of the DSA.<\/p>\n

The race turned nasty at times, with El-Sayed suggesting that Stevens was unable to \u201cstring together two coherent sentences\u201d and implying that she was bought out by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose super PAC spent nearly $30 million backing her.<\/p>\n

Stevens went viral for her Midwestern accent and catchphrase, \u201cStick it to \u2019em.\u201d She downplayed the national overtones of the race and insisted, \u201cIt\u2019s a Michigan moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should El-Sayed win the general election, the former executive director of the\u00a0Detroit Health Department could create headaches for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), given the Michigan Dem has expressed opposition to the Empire State pol leading the party.<\/p>\n

Schumer publicly backed Stevens, as did many top Democrats, including Whitmer and retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who stumped with her Sunday.<\/p>\n

Their theory was that Stevens was the more electable of the pair. <\/p>\n

A recent EPIC-MRA poll found that El-Sayed was down against Rogers, 43% to 46%, while Stevens was up 44% to 42%.<\/p>\n

Rogers previously lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in 2024. El-Sayed has tried to reassure voters that he can still win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they say I\u2019m not electable, they\u2019re not talking about me,\u201d El-Sayed told supporters during a rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re saying that you couldn\u2019t possibly be open-minded enough \u2026 to elect somebody with a name like mine who prays like I do in a state like ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats currently need to flip four seats to take control of the US Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a real shot to take the majority of the United States Senate,\u201d Peters told reporters Sunday while stumping for Haley. \u201cThat\u2019s become increasingly likely as every month goes by. But it doesn\u2019t happen if we lose Michigan.<\/p>\n

Read more Legendary soft rock band suddenly pulls California show two days before event<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis state is absolutely critical.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Far-left Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday handily beat Dem Rep. Haley Stevens in the party’s primary for Michigan’s US Senate seat, marking a massive victory for progressives trying to take over the establisment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFar-left Michigan Dem Abdul El-Sayed beats Rep. 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