Far-left anti-Israel Democrat El-Sayed poised to win Michigan senate primary

Abdul El-Sayed, who made his opposition to Israel and AIPAC a central feature of his campaign, is projected to narrowly win the Democratic primary for Senate race in Michigan.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed appeared Wednesday to have narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic US Senate primary, overcoming an unprecedented wave of outside spending supporting his pro-Israel opponent.

NBC News projected El-Sayed as the winner with approximately 48.6% of the vote, compared with 47.3% for Stevens. As of Wednesday morning, El-Sayed leads Stevens by nearly 20,000 votes, 735,625 to 716,222, with an estimated 95% of the ballots counted.

The result, should it hold, would mark one of the most significant victories for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing during the 2026 primary season and a major setback for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

AIPAC and its affiliated organizations spent close to $30 million supporting Stevens or opposing El-Sayed, their largest investment in a single election. Outside groups collectively poured nearly $50 million into promoting Stevens, while her own campaign spent only around $1 million on advertising.

El-Sayed made the outside spending a central theme of his campaign, presenting the contest as a battle between ordinary voters and wealthy political organizations.

“This election will come down to the many versus the money,” El-Sayed wrote shortly before the primary.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned for El-Sayed alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, said the race presented “an opportunity to show that things other than money can win in America.”

Despite leading for most of election night, El-Sayed saw his advantage shrink as returns arrived from heavily black areas including Detroit and Flint. Stevens had been backed by the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus’ political action committee.

Suspended candidate Mallory McMorrow, whose name remained on the ballot, received around 4%, potentially depriving either remaining candidate of a more decisive victory.

Neither El-Sayed nor Stevens declared victory during their early-morning speeches. Both urged Democrats to unite behind the eventual nominee against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers.

“Tomorrow we begin to mend fences,” El-Sayed told supporters, while calling on Democrats to “send a blow to Trumpism” by defeating Rogers.

Stevens also expressed confidence despite trailing.

“We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” she said. “I am feeling fired up, and you should be too.”

The primary became a nationally watched referendum on several of the Democratic Party’s most divisive issues, including Israel, healthcare, corporate political spending and the party establishment’s approach to President Donald Trump.

El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, campaigned in favor of Medicare for All, restrictions on corporate influence and an end to US military assistance to Israel. He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and argued that US tax dollars should be directed toward domestic needs rather than foreign military aid.

Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, positioned herself as a pragmatic Democrat capable of winning competitive elections. She was backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow and pro-Israel political organizations.

Stevens has supported continuing US military assistance to Israel while also criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“I want a two-state solution,” Stevens said in an interview on the eve of the primary. “I want long-term peace.”

She accused El-Sayed of refusing to state clearly whether he recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. El-Sayed has said he believes Israelis and Palestinians are entitled to equal safety, dignity and political rights, but has questioned formulations that define Israel specifically as a Jewish state.

Stevens largely avoided addressing AIPAC directly during the closing weeks of the campaign. Asked whether she welcomed its support, she said organizations backing her were doing so because of her “dedication to the people of Michigan” and her work for the state.

Many of the advertisements funded by AIPAC’s affiliated groups did not mention Israel. Instead, they focused on Stevens’ manufacturing credentials, Democratic endorsements and perceived ability to defeat Rogers in November.

Michigan has one of the largest Arab-American populations in the country, concentrated heavily around Dearborn and the Detroit metropolitan area. Anger over Democratic support for Israel helped fuel the state’s “uncommitted” movement during the 2024 presidential primary and remained a major force in the Senate contest.

El-Sayed’s apparent victory contrasted with the result in Missouri, where pro-Israel Rep. Wesley Bell defeated former congresswoman Cori Bush in another Democratic primary shaped by AIPAC spending and disagreement over Israel.

The Michigan nominee will face Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Rogers narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate election to Democrat Elissa Slotkin and is expected to make El-Sayed’s progressive record and views on Israel central issues should El-Sayed’s primary victory be confirmed.

The race is considered essential to Democratic hopes of regaining control of the Senate. Although Michigan has not elected a Republican senator since 1994, Trump carried the state in both 2016 and 2024, and Rogers came within approximately 20,000 votes of winning two years ago.

Polls show a highly competitive race between Rogers and El-Sayed, with the RealClearPolitics rolling average of polls pointing to an effective tie, with Rogers averaging 44.3% to 44.0% for El-Sayed.

Two years ago, Rogers outperformed the RealClearPolitics final average of polls, which showed Slotkin with a 2.3-point lead. Slotkin narrowly won the race by just 0.3 percentage points.

Abdul El-Sayeddemocratic primaryMichigan