Elections & Democracy
Abdul El-Sayed urges unity after Michigan Senate win
Abdul El-Sayed urged Democrats to unite after winning Michigan’s Democratic nomination for the US Senate on Wednesday, setting up a November race against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers in a battleground state central to the fight for control of the chamber.
El-Sayed, a left-wing former public health official, defeated four-term congresswoman Haley Stevens after a costly primary that became a national test of the Democratic Party’s left wing. Stevens conceded and pledged to support him against Rogers.
“The things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us,” El-Sayed told supporters. He said he wanted to build a movement broad enough to include voters who had backed either Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump in 2024.
El-Sayed said Republicans would try to portray him as too radical for Michigan and use his Muslim identity against him. He also challenged Rogers to five debates and accused him of loyalty to Trump and corporate donors.
Stevens was supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who argued that her more moderate record made her the safer general-election candidate. El-Sayed was backed by progressive figures including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, as well as the United Auto Workers union.
His platform includes health care for all, higher taxes on billionaires, ending unconditional US military aid to Israel and reducing the role of corporate money in elections. The primary was shaped in part by divisions over Israel; El-Sayed has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, while Stevens defended the US-Israel relationship. AIPAC’s political arm spent more than $30 million supporting Stevens.
Michigan backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election, even as Democrat Elissa Slotkin narrowly defeated Rogers for the state’s other Senate seat. Democrats must defend the Michigan seat while gaining four Republican-held seats to regain control of the Senate.
Update
El-Sayed challenged Mike Rogers to five debates and accused him of loyalty to Donald Trump and corporate donors.
The item adds that El-Sayed was backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and the United Auto Workers, alongside Bernie Sanders.
Stevens said the primary reflected the full span of views within the Democratic Party.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 22:07:15 UTC.
Update
Abdul El-Sayed is a 41-year-old trained epidemiologist born in Detroit to an Egyptian father and an American mother.
El-Sayed studied at the University of Michigan, Columbia University and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and later led public health services for Wayne County.
El-Sayed said after his primary win that public schools, a public university and paid medical education showed what America gave him.
El-Sayed said he wants to get money out of politics, put money in people’s pockets and pass Medicare for all.
Republican Senator Katie Britt called El-Sayed a jihadist sympathizer, while a Republican Senate caucus claimed communists and Islamists were taking control of the Democratic Party.
El-Sayed accused Mike Rogers, Donald Trump and their allies of running a bitter campaign and said opponents were using his full name as a scare tactic.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 21:36:02 UTC.
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Abdul El-Sayed called for Democratic unity after defeating Haley Stevens.
El-Sayed said Republicans would try to portray him as too radical and use his Muslim identity against him.
El-Sayed challenged Republican Mike Rogers to five debates.
Stevens conceded Wednesday and pledged to support El-Sayed against Rogers.
Trump called the result “great news for the Republican Party,” according to the source item.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 15:51:36 UTC.
Update
Abdul El-Sayed defeated Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary, according to AFP's updated account.
Haley Stevens conceded and said she would support El-Sayed against Mike Rogers.
Donald Trump called El-Sayed “a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel.”
Police and party figures were not involved; the update adds more detail on campaign spending and Democratic divisions over Israel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 14:37:25 UTC.
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US media reported that the left-wing Democratic candidate won the high-profile Michigan primary.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 14:02:32 UTC.
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With 95 percent of votes counted, NBC projected Abdul El-Sayed would win the Michigan Democratic Senate primary as of 6:50 am local reporting time.
AFP reported that NBC was the only major US media outlet to call the race at that time.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 10:58:51 UTC.
Update
Hours after polls closed, Abdul El-Sayed held a narrow lead over Haley Stevens.
The Michigan Democratic Senate primary was still too close to call.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 03:50:09 UTC.
Update
Voting began on Tuesday in Michigan's Democratic primary.
Several recent polls have shown Abdul El-Sayed ahead.
Our Revolution says its volunteers have made more than 300,000 voter contacts for El-Sayed.
The source adds 2024 context: Michigan voted narrowly for President Donald Trump while Democrat Elissa Slotkin edged Mike Rogers in that year's Senate race.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 12:36:56 UTC.
Source
AFP news report published on .