Progressive Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday night, defeating establishment-backed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens to become the party’s general election nominee.
El-Sayed will face off against Republican and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed, in 90 days.
The race was close throughout Tuesday evening, with NBC calling it for El-Sayed in the early hours of Wednesday morning and Decision Desk HQ doing the same at 8:35 a.m. Eastern. With 96% of the vote in, El-Sayed won with 48.52% of the vote to Stevens’ 47.47%.
That is a difference of just 16,000 votes of the more than 1.4 million that were cast.
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow also appeared on the Democratic primary ballot, receiving 4% of the vote.
El-Sayed’s campaign released a statement, applauding his win despite record spending from his opposition.
“Michiganders have spoken,” said Alia Kapasi, El-Sayed’s campaign manager. “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.”
Michigan’s U.S. Senate candidates are vying to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat.
Although El-Sayed rejected the label of democratic socialist, he aligned himself with the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
He has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and several members of the progressive congressional group known as “the Squad,” which includes U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, Rashida Tlaib, D-MI, and Ilhan Omar, D-MN.
While Stevens and El-Sayed shared some progressive positions, El-Sayed embraced a broader slate of left-wing policies, including Medicare for all and a wealth tax on billionaires.
El-Sayed cast himself as the candidate taking on “AIPAC and the establishment.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying organization, has spent millions backing Stevens’ campaign.
Stevens dismissed several of his policy proposals as “aspirational” during the campaign. She also received the endorsement of the current seat holder, Peters, highlighting her support among Democratic Party leaders. That backing was partly driven by the view that she was the stronger candidate to take on Rogers in the general election.
That wasn’t enough to get her across the finish line though.
The November U.S. Senate race in Michigan is one of the nation’s most closely-watched Senate races.
Rogers has received the endorsement of President Donald Trump and recent polling shows Rogers beating El-Sayed by 46.7% to 42.3%. That is according to the average of the last three polls compiled by 270toWin.
In 2024, Michigan’s U.S. Senate race was decided by less than half a percentage point, with U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin narrowly defeating Rogers. While Democrats are divided, on the Republican side, the party leadership and funding has once again rallied around Rogers.
The outcome of Michigan’s Senate race will play a role in determining which party controls the 120th Congress.
Of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, 33 are up for regular election in 2026, along with two special elections. Democrats currently hold 13 of the seats on the ballot, while Republicans hold 22.