The Associated Press called the race early Wednesday for El-Sayed, ending one of the midterm’s most expensive and bitter primary races. With 99% of the votes counted, El-Sayed was leading by about 15,000 votes, out of nearly 1.5 million votes cast. Michigan is widely viewed as critical to Democrats’ effort to regain control of the chamber, and some party leaders and strategists view El-Sayed as less competitive against Mike Rogers, the former congressman who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
For progressives, El-Sayed’s victory amounts to a rejection of an establishment seen as overly cautious, too closely aligned with corporate interests and unwilling to challenge traditional power centers. Stevens represented a different path: a candidate with deep party ties, more traditional experience in government, and a message focused on growing American manufacturing.
Stevens, a moderate from the Detroit suburbs elected to Congress in 2018, framed herself as the Democrat best positioned to keep the seat in Democratic hands, arguing that El-Sayed’s positions on Israel and other issues were out of step with the state’s electorate. On the campaign trail, she emphasized her record in Congress, her ties to Michigan’s manufacturing communities, and her experience working for former President Barack Obama during the auto industry bailout. “I’m the only candidate who can keep Michigan blue,” Stevens argued in the final days of the campaign.
Republicans had quietly hoped that El-Sayed would emerge as the Democratic nominee, believing some of his progressive views could provide them an opening in a state that has repeatedly shifted between the parties. Conservative groups have spent months portraying him as too radical for Michigan, focusing on his policy positions, his criticism of Israel, and his association with the political commentator Hasan Piker. Piker has faced criticism for past comments, including remarks that America deserved the Sept. 11 attacks that he later said he regretted. On the eve of the primary, El-Sayed once again campaigned with Piker, which Republicans pointed to as evidence of a broader ideological extremism.
El-Sayed entered the race with a national following but a complicated political history. A Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Columbia Medical School who pursued a career in public health rather than practicing medicine, he served as Wayne County’s health director and gained national attention during a 2018 campaign for governor of Michigan in which he lost in the Democratic primary. In the years since, he has written books, hosted a podcast, and become a prominent voice in progressive circles.
His win comes just weeks after several Democratic socialist and progressive candidates scored major primary upsets against long-term establishment incumbents.
Stevens consolidated support from many establishment Democrats, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, while El-Sayed strengthened his alliance with progressives, campaigning alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
For progressives, the Michigan result will be viewed as proof that the party is gravitating toward candidates who openly challenge Democratic leaders and embrace a more confrontational politics. For establishment Democrats, it will raise urgent questions about whether the party’s primary electorate is moving further away from the voters needed to win statewide contests in November.
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