Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s US Senate seat, defeating Haley Stevens in a closely watched contest that became a referendum on the party’s direction. He won by a narrow margin, with fewer than 15,000 votes separating the candidates according to the Associated Press, and will now face Republican nominee Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed, in a key battleground race Democrats need to hold if they are to have any chance of reclaiming the Senate majority.
The result was still being finalized on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, with the Associated Press not formally calling the race while Wayne county, Michigan’s largest county, was still being counted. El-Sayed’s campaign, however, had already begun a victory lap and sent out emails saying he had won, while CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, also projected him the winner on Wednesday morning. Once the result was confirmed, leading Democrats quickly set aside earlier misgivings and moved to embrace El-Sayed as their nominee against Rogers.
The victory carries significance well beyond Michigan. It gives Democrats a left-wing nominee in one of the country’s most important swing states and sets up a November test of whether an unapologetically progressive candidate can win statewide in a battleground seat that could determine control of the US Senate. It also sent tremors through the party’s leadership, which had backed Stevens, and strengthened the case made by progressive activists that voters are open to a more combative anti-establishment message.
Why did this primary matter so much?
The Democratic primary became a proxy battle between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former state public health official, was backed by many leaders on the left flank, while Stevens, a serving US congresswoman who flipped her district blue in 2018, received support from party leaders including governor Gretchen Whitmer and tens of millions of dollars in outside PAC funding from the pro-Israel lobby.
That spending became a central issue in the campaign. El-Sayed repeatedly highlighted it on the trail in Michigan, the birthplace of the uncommitted movement, which saw a sizeable portion of Arab-American voters refuse to support Kamala Harris in 2024 over the Biden administration’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war.
Second-source reporting also framed the contest as a broader moment for Democrats nationwide, describing El-Sayed’s win as a sign that primary voters had “taken a chance on a left-wing insurgent” at a time when Republicans appear to be facing significant electoral headwinds. The outlet said the result would be felt far beyond Michigan, especially because the general election could decide overall control of the Senate.
El-Sayed also argued that the race was about changing the way politics works in Washington. His campaign manager, Alia Kapasi, said in a statement:
“This was always going to be the many versus the money, and tonight, we have shown that Michiganders want money out of politics, money in their pockets, and Medicare for all. We are building a coalition that is fired up and ready to go beat Mike Rogers,”
El-Sayed posted on X on Wednesday morning:
“We won,”
and wrote that he was
“proud to be your Democratic nominee for US Senate”
. He added:
“Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for All,”
a refrain he had repeated throughout the campaign.
In his address to supporters on Tuesday night, before the final outcome was known, El-Sayed also struck a more conciliatory note. He said:
“Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to ensure that we unite, unite to make sure that [Republican] Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the US Senate.”
The son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim US senator if he wins in November.
How did the candidates present themselves?
El-Sayed ran as a left-wing political outsider, pitching universal healthcare, abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ending unconditional US military aid to Israel. He had sought office before, losing the Democratic gubernatorial race in Michigan in 2018, but said the anti-establishment coalition he now represents is larger than the one that rejected him eight years ago.
He said:
“I think people are sick and tired of the establishments on both sides of that, and I think we are having success because we’re speaking to that frustration,”
and added:
“And politics doesn’t have to suck, and you can build a politics that doesn’t suck.”
The second outlet described El-Sayed as a “new left-wing warrior” whose campaign was powered by progressive energy. It said he was backed by senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and that his message resonated with Democrats who were open to government-sponsored health insurance, lower drug costs, higher taxes on the wealthy and campaign finance reform.
Stevens, by contrast, campaigned as a pragmatic problem-solver and a middle-of-the-road candidate who could appeal to undecided voters in November. She has represented Michigan’s 11th House district since 2019, after flipping the seat, and promised to help save manufacturing jobs in the state if elected.
Stevens said the race was close exactly as expected after the vote.
“We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,”
she said.
“I am feeling fired up, and you should be too.”
In a statement after the result, Stevens congratulated her rival and offered support for the general election. She said:
“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for US Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election.”
Stevens’ campaign also benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending from groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the pro-Israel lobbying organization.
The second report said Stevens had the backing of Democratic leadership in Washington, a deep financial base and outside groups that favoured her over El-Sayed by a margin of nine-to-one, including $32m from Aipac. It also argued that her defeat was a major setback for pro-Israel Democrats, making her the highest-profile Aipac-backed candidate to lose on Tuesday night.
How did Israel shape the race?
Israel was one of the clearest dividing lines in the campaign. El-Sayed spoke out against US involvement in the Middle East, including aid to Israel, and linked the Israel-Gaza war to broader questions of affordability and political accountability at home. Stevens, meanwhile, was staunchly pro-Israel and said she supported upholding US aid to Israel without conditions.
That divide helped turn the race into a test of how far Democratic voters in a battleground state were willing to move to the left. The issue was especially charged in Michigan, where Arab-American voters and supporters of the uncommitted movement played an outsized role in debates over the Biden administration’s approach to the war.
The second source said the result was part of a wider shift in some Democratic primaries, noting that El-Sayed and other progressive candidates had succeeded in tapping into anger over Gaza and the party establishment. It also pointed to other Michigan races, including Democratic Socialist Donavan McKinney’s defeat of incumbent Shri Thanedar in a House primary and progressive William Lawrence’s victory in a separate district, as further signs that voters in parts of the state were backing candidates critical of US support for Israel.
El-Sayed is an epidemiologist who served in health director roles in Detroit and its county, and has frequently connected foreign policy to economic issues in the United States. The BBC report added that he voiced support for left-wing causes such as universal healthcare and abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while also calling for ending unconditional US military aid to Israel.
In another sign of the changing Democratic mood, the second outlet said national progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists saw the result as an endorsement of candidates willing to challenge US policy toward Israel. IfNotNow, a Jewish organization opposed to Israel’s policy towards Palestinians, said:
“Abdul’s victory is a win for everyone who supports equality, justice, and a thriving future for all.”
It added:
“We urge those who see Abdul’s support for Palestinian human rights and blocking weapons to Israel as a threat to our community to reconsider. It is incredibly dangerous to conflate Jewish safety with support for Aipac or Israel’s military.”
Brian Romick, president of the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, struck a more defensive note, saying:
“There is clearly strong anti-establishment energy this cycle, but no one should count pro-Israel Democrats out.”
He added that El-Sayed’s “razor-thin victory” was “disappointing” for his opponents, but not a sweeping mandate for his views.
What happens next in November?
If officially confirmed as the primary winner, El-Sayed will face Republican nominee and former representative Mike Rogers in November. Rogers ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and the general election will help determine which party controls the Senate.
Democrats need to hold the Michigan seat if they are to have any chance of reclaiming the Senate majority, making the contest one of the most important races in the country this year. Michigan remains one of the crucial swing states: it voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 but for Trump in 2024.
The second outlet said the November contest will be a particularly stark test for Democrats because it will show whether a left-wing candidate can win in a true battleground state. It added that El-Sayed will now need to unite the party after a narrow primary and broaden his appeal beyond the higher-educated liberals who backed him in the primary, including lower-income voters who had supported Stevens in Detroit and more rural areas.
Trump reacted to the result on Truth Social, where he declared the Michigan Senate outcome “Great news for the Republican Party”. He referred to the Democratic Party as the “Dumocrats” and said their “crazy policies will only get worse!”
Rogers also moved quickly to frame the general election as a referendum on the direction of the Democratic Party. He said:
“The choice this November is simple: common sense or complete insanity,”
and blamed Democrats – who have held both of Michigan’s Senate seats since 2001 – for job losses in manufacturing.
He said El-Sayed “doesn’t represent a vision for the future. He’s leading a movement grounded in ideological fanaticism.”
The former president’s comment underscored the national stakes of the race. The November midterm elections will determine the balance of power in Washington for the last two years of President Donald Trump’s time in office, and the Michigan Senate race is expected to be a key part of that fight.
The second source also argued that if El-Sayed wins in November, his victory could offer progressive Democrats proof of concept for a future presidential contest, including the 2028 race. It noted that Michigan’s position as a key early state in the Democratic presidential primary calendar could further increase the importance of the result for the party’s direction.
The easiest path for Democrats to win back the Senate – which Republicans control with 53 lawmakers to their 47 – requires holding on to their seats in Michigan and Georgia while ousting Republicans from blue state Maine as well as three other red states. Democratic leaders believe they have the right candidates to pull that off in North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska, but it will nonetheless be a tall order, given that all three states backed Trump in 2024, and the latter two by double-digit margins.
Michigan’s Democratic senator Gary Peters, whose decision not to seek re-election had sparked the primary for his seat, backed Stevens as his replacement but quickly endorsed El-Sayed after his primary.
“Both candidates ran strong campaigns focused on improving the lives of all Michiganders. But now it’s time to come together as a party and rally around our nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, to make sure Mike Rogers never sees the floor of the ,”
Peters said.
In a statement released following her loss, Stevens congratulated El-Sayed but did not outright endorse him, instead indicating she was ready to campaign for him as well as Democrats vying to win swing districts in Michigan.
“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. I am proud to have put up my hand to serve, and prouder to continue to work together to make sure this Senate seat remains blue, that we flip the United States Senate and continue the work for Michigan,”
Stevens said.
Leading Democrats moved similarly after the result was confirmed. In a joint statement, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senate campaign arm, said:
“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 to win this seat in November.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had endorsed Stevens, also emphasized party unity after the primary.
“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,”
she said.
“We’re all united by our shared goal of getting things done for the people in Michigan.”
El-Sayed and his allies portrayed the result as evidence that voters want to challenge the influence of money in politics and move away from what they see as traditional party gatekeeping. The second report said the result was also being watched closely by pro-Palestinian and anti-establishment Democrats in other cities and states, where insurgent candidates have tried to build on frustration over foreign policy and the party establishment.
What else was happening on election night?
Attention in Michigan was also on the wider ballot. Voters in Michigan, Virginia and Washington state cast their ballots in Democratic primaries on US House of Representatives candidates on Tuesday.
Also in Michigan, Jocelyn Benson clinched the Democratic nomination in the governor’s race and will face John James, who won the Republican contest. Benson, the state’s secretary of state, will take on James, a congressman who received an endorsement from Donald Trump, to replace term-limited Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer in November.
Further down ballot, William Lawrence, a progressive, won a competitive three-way Democratic primary in Michigan’s seventh congressional district. Lawrence, who co-founded the , will now challenge Republican incumbent Tom Barrett, who has bucked his own party while in office, after Barrett flipped the key battleground district red in 2024.
Meanwhile in Washington state, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the two-term centrist Democrat, advanced to the general election for her competitive US House seat. She will face Republican candidate and state senator John Braun, who is backed by Trump. The state votes on single ballots, meaning the top two finishers regardless of party advance to November’s contest.
In Missouri, Democratic congressman Wesley Bell won his primary in the St Louis area on Tuesday, ending the progressive former representative Cori Bush’s bid for a comeback. Bell’s victory blunted the momentum pro-Palestinian candidates have shown in recent elections, and in this deep-blue district he is also the favorite to win a second term in November.
Also in the Midwest, Cindy Holscher, a state senator, won the Democratic nomination in Kansas’s gubernatorial race after defeating two other Sunflower state politicians to advance to the general election. Ty Masterson, the Trump-backed Kansas state senate president, clinched the GOP nomination in a crowded race. The contest is expected to be fierce, as both sides are angling to retake the governor’s mansion from Democratic control.
Elsewhere in the election coverage, Republican congressman Max Miller was facing growing calls to resign and a congressional ethics committee investigation into allegations of domestic abuse. Late on Tuesday, when he arrived in Las Vegas, Donald Trump said he “felt badly” for Miller when asked about the situation by reporters traveling with the president.
Trump said:
“I hope he’s able to work it out,”
During a CNN interview on Tuesday, Miller said the president told him on Monday that
“it’s going to be a tough race”
but did not tell him to end his re-election campaign.
At the same time, Chuck Edwards, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, withdrew from his reelection campaign after the House ethics committee found that he had “fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment” by giving gifts and lavishing attention on two young female staffers.
Edwards said:
“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,”
and added:
“I will complete my current term. Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.”
The bipartisan ethics panel began investigating Edwards earlier this year after receiving complaints. The report approved by Democratic and Republican committee members determined that there was “substantial reason to believe” Edwards broke House rules by singling out the two unidentified aides for special treatment that made them uncomfortable and harmed relations with other employees.
In Missouri, the state’s top election official rejected a citizens’ petition seeking a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported. Republican secretary of state Denny Hoskins said the petition was void because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums and that “challenging a congressional map is unconstitutional under Missouri law”.
Missouri joined Texas last year in responding to Trump’s call to redraw congressional districts to the GOP’s advantage. The new map dramatically reshapes the Kansas City-based fifth congressional district, long held by Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver. Under the new map, the district stretches into rural central Missouri, giving it a Republican tilt.
Republicans already hold six of Missouri’s eight congressional seats. People Not Politicians, the group sponsoring the referendum drive, had submitted more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office in December calling for a statewide referendum on the plan, and said it would contest Hoskins’ decision in court.
In separate non-primary news, Max Miller, the beleaguered US Republican representative from Ohio, has vowed to defy a rising groundswell of resignation calls from his own party over domestic abuse allegations after his ex-father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, a GOP senator, said he was unfit to serve in Congress.
Miller, who married Emily Moreno at Trump’s club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in 2022, has been accused of holding a gun to her head and scalding her with boiling water. Their toddler daughter, who was born in 2023, is also said to have suffered a broken collarbone due to his actions.
Why did the Democratic result draw national attention?
The Michigan result drew national attention because it tested whether progressive candidates could beat better-funded establishment-backed rivals in a major battleground state. It also carried symbolic weight for Democrats after a series of high-profile debates over how the party should respond to the war in Gaza, economic frustration and the rise of left-wing challengers.
El-Sayed’s victory, if confirmed, would also add to the profile of candidates who have combined anti-establishment messaging with criticism of US policy in the Middle East. His campaign has framed the result as proof that voters want a break from traditional fundraising and lobbying dynamics, while Stevens’ backers had argued that her experience and broader appeal made her the stronger general-election candidate.
The race was especially important because the seat is being vacated by retiring Democratic senator Gary Peters. The last time a Republican senator was elected in Michigan was in 1994, adding to the stakes for both parties in November.
Haley Stevens, who is currently trailing in the Michigan Senate primary, cast herself throughout her campaign as a pragmatic problem-solver and workhorse. She has represented Michigan’s 11th House district since 2019, after flipping the seat, and drew endorsements from senior Democrats including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, governor Gretchen Whitmer and Gary Peters, the retiring senator whose seat she was seeking.
Her campaign also benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending from groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the pro-Israel lobbying organization.
El-Sayed, meanwhile, is the progressive former public health official who was leading the race for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan. An epidemiologist who served in health director roles in Detroit and its county, El-Sayed has frequently linked the Israel-Gaza war, which he unflinchingly calls a genocide, and other conflicts involving the US to affordability at home.
He had sought office before, losing the Democratic gubernatorial race in Michigan in 2018. But he said the anti-establishment coalition he now represents is larger than the one that rejected him eight years ago.
“I think people are sick and tired of the establishments on both sides of that, and I think we are having success because we’re speaking to that frustration,”
El-Sayed said.
“And politics doesn’t have to suck, and you can build a politics that doesn’t suck.”
What does the result mean for the party’s direction?
The race highlighted the tension between Democrats who want a centrist, broadly electable message and those who argue the party should move decisively left on economics, foreign policy and money in politics. With Michigan set to be one of the most important battlegrounds in November, the winner’s coalition and message may influence how both parties frame the race going forward.
For El-Sayed’s supporters, the result suggests that voters are receptive to a candidate who is explicit about universal healthcare, anti-establishment politics and opposition to unconditional support for Israel. For Stevens and her allies, the near-upset or close finish underscores the competitiveness of the state and the importance of a candidate who can appeal across party lines.
The second outlet said the result could have broader implications for the Democrats’ presidential future, arguing that a strong showing by El-Sayed in November would boost progressive claims ahead of 2028 and strengthen Michigan’s influence in choosing the party’s next nominee.
What comes next in the counting?
Wayne county was still the outstanding area when the Associated Press had not yet formally called the race. At that point, 88% of the votes in the county had been counted.
As of the latest Associated Press count used on election night, El-Sayed led Stevens 48.5% to 47.5%.
With the race now effectively settled, both parties are turning to November, where Democrats will try to keep a seat they have held since 2001 and Republicans will try to make Michigan one of their clearest opportunities to expand their Senate map. The result leaves El-Sayed with the task of consolidating support after a bruising primary while Rogers seeks to cast him as too far left for the swing state electorate.
For Democrats, the stakes are unusually high. A win in Michigan would help them build a narrow path back to Senate control, while a loss would force them to look elsewhere for gains and could deepen internal arguments over whether the party’s future lies with candidates like Stevens or insurgents like El-Sayed.
For Republicans, the race offers a chance to turn a Democratic state-level battle into a national warning about the party’s leftward tilt. Rogers and Trump have already framed it that way, while El-Sayed and his allies are presenting the contest as a broader fight over affordability, health care and political power.
In that sense, the primary may have ended, but the arguments it exposed are only beginning to shape the general election.
