‘Most radical Democrat Senate nominee ever’: Republicans gear up for heated Michigan midterm race after progressive Abdul El-Sayed wins primary 

Republicans are already gearing up for what is sure to be a heated Michigan Senate race in November after progressive Abdul El-Sayed narrowly beat centrist Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary.

The Associated Press called the tight race Wednesday morning as El-Sayed led Stevens, a four-term representative, by 1 percentage point – a much slimmer margin than the 8-point lead polls predicted El-Sayed would have heading into the election. Now, El-Sayed will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November in a race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.

Democrats move further to the left

The closely watched primary exposed deep divides within the Democratic Party between its establishment and progressive wings, as well as over U.S. support for Israel, as El-Sayed holds far-left views including abolishing federal immigration enforcement, Medicare for All and taxpayer-funded child care. He was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, while Stevens was endorsed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Peters and was quietly supported by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

El-Sayed’s win indicates that progressives are winning within the party even in a purple Midwestern state like Michigan, and party leaders are already jumping on board.

Asked Tuesday if he’d endorse El-Sayed, Schumer indicated he would, Punchbowl News reported. “In Michigan, we are going to beat the Republicans. We’re going to take Michigan. And we’re going to win back the Senate. Plain and simple,” Schumer said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin called El-Sayed a “dedicated public servant who fought to make government work for Michigan families,” he wrote Wednesday. “Now he is ready to take that fight to the U.S. Senate. Congratulations, Abdul! Let’s win this.”

Between El-Sayed’s win and Democratic socialist Francesca Hong’s lead in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, some observers believe the Democratic establishment is losing its grip on a party that is increasingly moving further to the left.

“Can we finally tonight put to bed the delusion that radicals like El-Sayed are a fringe element of the Democratic Party?” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote on X. “Polls show that one in three Democrats identify as DSA supporters and Democrats have a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism.”

“The establishment continues to delude itself that this is a small part of a big tent party, but it is clear that the tent is smaller than they think,” he added.

Both parties gear up for the midterms

For Democrats, the focus is already shifting to a November showdown with Rogers.

“We’ve got 13 weeks to defeat Mike Rogers, and however we might feel about the campaign we’ve just come through, I want you to understand that it pales in comparison to the cynicism, in comparison to the corporatism, in comparison to the lies that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump are going to tell,” El-Sayed said Wednesday, adding that despite disagreements among Democrats “there is so much more that unites us than divides us” and that it was time to “mend fences.” 

Michigan’s Senate seat is considered a toss-up race, with Republicans hoping to grow their Senate majority while Democrats view the seat as key to their efforts to regain control of the chamber. In a matchup between Rogers and El-Sayed, current RealClearPolling averages indicate Rogers has a slight lead.

“El-Sayed is the most radical Democrat Senate nominee ever,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott said in a statement provided to Heartlander News. “His support of terrorist organizations, socialist policies and the defunding of law enforcement makes him dangerous and ultimately disqualified from serving.”

Looking ahead to November, he added that Republicans “cannot take anything for granted” since Michigan has had two Democrat senators for decades. “But we will do everything we can to make sure El-Sayed never steps foot in the U.S. Senate.”

Heartlander News reached out to the campaigns of El-Sayed, Stevens and Rogers for comment.

President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Rogers and recently campaigned with him in Michigan, told reporters Tuesday night that “the communists are the new face” of the Democrats.

“Great news for the Republican Party. El-Sayed, a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel, is the projected winner in his race with the Socialist,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “Now, the Dumocrats crazy policies will only get worse!”

In an earlier post Wednesday, Trump raised concerns about election security in Michigan. “Wayne County (Detroit) in Michigan is one of the most corrupt voting areas in the United States, if not the World. It is strictly Third World!,” he said, adding that in November “we must VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS, and make Michigan TOO BIG TO RIG.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/X/RT_com)