El Sayed leads Stevens as Michigan Senate race remains too close to call
The Michigan Senate race between Abdul el Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens remains very close,with el Sayed holding a slight 1-point lead as of early morning results. Polls had predicted a decisive victory for el Sayed,but the current margin reflects a tighter contest. El Sayed has declared victory, although the Associated Press has not officially announced a winner. The race is competitive and has become a national indicator, reflecting divisions within the Democratic Party-el Sayed criticizes Stevens’s support for Israel and accepts backing from progressive figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, while Stevens is supported by established Democrats and pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC. El Sayed’s platform emphasizes opposition to U.S. support for Israel and dismantling big money influences in politics, though his rhetoric has faced criticism for perhaps alienating Jewish voters. The primary is still ongoing, with about 95% of votes counted, and the outcome remains uncertain. The GOP has already begun attacking el Sayed, framing him as too radical for Michigan.
The Michigan Senate race between Abdul el Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) remained too close to call on Wednesday morning, though el Sayed has a 1-point lead as of about 8:30 a.m.
The results are closer than was expected, with most polls suggesting el Sayed would win by double digits. An Emerson College Poll from July 26-27 had el Sayed up by 16 points. The current margin is el Sayed with 48.5% of the vote compared to Stevens’s 47.5%, according to the Associated Press, which has not yet anointed a winner. El Sayed has declared victory, however, as the likes of NBC News have handed the race to him.
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That’s a margin of about 15,000 votes. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who suspended her campaign in early July, has garnered about 60,000 votes, or 4%.
Stevens, an establishment figure in the party and avid supporter of AIPAC and Israel, has faced the same left-flank opposition as many other establishment Democrats this cycle, as the progressive movement threatens to take over the party. El Sayed attacked Stevens for accepting money from super PACs, saying during a debate last month, “Big AI has huge super PACs. Huge super PACs that guess who they’re funding, not me, the other person on this stage.” While she has accepted money from Microsoft and Google’s corporate PACs, she hasn’t accepted money from AI-supporting Super PACs, according to PBS.
The race has also become a barometer on Israel, as el Sayed frequently criticized Stevens’s support for Israel. The pro-Israel group AIPAC spent more than $30 million on ads supporting Stevens.
The four-term congresswoman is supported by the likes of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and outgoing Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
El Sayed, who is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has enjoyed support from their movement and high-profile members, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) campaigned for el Sayed last month. His campaign strategy has focused on big money in politics and opposing U.S. support for Israel.
The former Wayne County health department director has faced criticism that his anti-Israel rhetoric alienates Jewish voters. He has said he doesn’t support giving money to Israel and has called the Jewish state’s operation in Gaza a genocide. He has tried to push back on the characterization that his positions don’t welcome Jewish voters into his coalition, telling CBS News, “Sometimes, when the Democratic Party talks about a big tent, we push everybody into the corner and then go talk and pander to the corner. I’m just trying to bring everybody to the tent pole in the middle to talk about what we really need. We need good housing. We need good schools. We need healthcare.”
He also caught flak for recent comments showing his national ambitions. In response to a question about primariying other Democrats in the future, leaked audio obtained by Politico recorded him saying: “If I win … well, y’all came at me, so now I get to come at you, and, you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that. Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” he added, describing how he believed a Senate victory could help advance the progressive movement.
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So far, 95% of the vote has been tallied, so the final result could come later today.
The GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund already released a statement targeting el Sayed.
“Chuck Schumer burned over $60 million propping up Haley Stevens only for Democrats to nominate Abdul El-Sayed, a dangerous threat to the safety and freedoms of every American. El-Sayed’s radical agenda to defund and disarm the police, abolish prisons, and unleash terror and violent criminals is a direct attack on Michigan families. Senate Leadership Fund is strongly committed to defeating this extremist and is proud to support former FBI Special Agent Mike Rogers as Michigan’s next U.S. Senator,” the statement from Communications Director Chris Gustafson read.
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