Progressives notch another victory after Abdul El-Sayed wins Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed was declared the winner in Michigan’s Senate seat Wednesday morning, after clinging to a narrow lead in an extremely tight race against centrist Rep. Haley Stevens.

A win for El-Sayed, a former public health official, will come as a shock to the Democratic establishment and to American Israel Public Affairs Committee, D.C.’s top Israel lobby group. Stevens, a moderate establishment-backed candidate, has received tens of millions of dollars from AIPAC in support of her campaign.

Votes continued to be counted into Wednesday morning, and El-Sayed was declared the winner by the Associated Press shortly before he was due to appear at a press conference. He told MS NOW that his team was “focused on trying to figure out how we bring the party together” to defeat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers. Polls had shown El-Sayed with a much stronger lead ahead of election day, but Stevens was bolstered by the last-minute endorsements of the incumbent, Sen. Gary Peters, as well as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, El-Sayed was flanked by Mallory McMorrow, one of the two candidates in the three-person race that narrowed in July with her decision to suspend her campaign. The nominee condemned the “bitter, divisive and cynical” campaigng against him before calling for unity, telling Democratic voters “there is so much more that unites us now.”

“The campaign that Mike Rogers, Donald Trump, and their GOP MAGA allies are launching is already more bitter. All you gotta do is look at the ads you’re already watching on TV, started today,” said El-Sayed. “They think they want to use my whole name against me. Mike, listen man, If you can’t say the name — it’s Abdulrahman — keep the name out your damn mouth.”

Both El-Sayed and Stevens took the stage after midnight to share their optimism with supporters. Stevens’ campaign said Wednesday morning that she called El-Sayed to congratulate him and endorse him for the general election.

“Tomorrow, we begin to mend fences,” El Sayed said. “Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to assure that we unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”

During her late-night speech, Stevens told supporters: “We knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got: a close race. But friends, I am feeling good about this race. I am feeling fired up,” according to the New York Times.

President Donald Trump responded to the election results on Wednesday morning, writing on Truth Social: “Great news for the Republican Party. El-Sayed, a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel, is the projected winner in his race with the Socialist. As usual, the Polls were way off on this one. She was not expected to do nearly as well as she did. Now, the Dumocrats crazy policies will only get worse!”

Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin congratulated El-Sayed in a statement, saying, “Congratulations to Abdul El-Sayed on his hard-fought victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary. From leading the Detroit Health Department to fighting to expand access to affordable healthcare and create more opportunities for working families, he has dedicated his career to public service.

“Michigan voters chose a candidate who will fight to lower costs, strengthen communities, stand up for working Americans, and build an economy that works for everyone. Democrats are united in working together to keep this seat blue and send El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate,” added the party chair.

Even though the race had not been called, El-Sayed sent out a fundraising email around 7 a.m. Wednesday reading “We won.” He was declared the winner by NBC News, though other major media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, had not yet named a winner at the time the email was sent.

The reason for the networks’ hesitance was the incredibly slim margin which the race came down to: El-Sayed won with a 1-point margin at the time the race was called, leading by just about 15,000 votes out of more than 1.4 million cast in the primary.

While many more progressive Democratic candidates have found success in the U.S. House primaries, including in New York and Denver, those cities are deep-blue cities, whereas Michigan is more mixed politically. Even as progressives have made strides across the country, former Rep. Cori Bush, known as a member of the “Squad,” lost her former St.Louis, Missouri-based seat in a Democratic primary rematch to Rep. Wesley Bell, who was also backed by AIPAC. However, a progressive victory in Michigan would indicate a more significant milestone for progressives.

El-Sayed was in the lead as initial results came in Tuesday night, but Stevens started closing that gap as votes came in from Wayne County.

Either El-Sayed or Stevens will face Rogers in the general election in November. Each candidate is looking to succeed Democratic Senator Gary Peters, the moderate incumbent who is set to retire.

Peters and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both endorsed Stevens, while El-Sayed received support from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in Congress, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

With reporting by the Associated Press