Progressives appear close to victory against Schumer, party leaders with Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate lead
Progressives appear close to victory against Schumer, party leaders with Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate lead
John Bowden and Isabel Keane Wed, August 5, 2026 at 1:14 PM UTC
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Progressive Abdul El-Sayed holds a narrow lead over centrist Rep. Haley Stevens Wednesday morning in extremely tight Michigan Senate race (AFP/Getty)
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed is on the precipice of a Democratic primary win in the race for Michigan’s Senate seat Wednesday morning, clinging to a narrow lead in an extremely tight race against centrist Rep. Haley Stevens.
A win for El-Sayed, a former public health official, would come as a shock to the Democratic establishment and to AIPAC, D.C.’s top Israel lobby group. Stevens, a moderate establishment-backed candidate, has received tens of millions of dollars from AIPAC in support of her campaign.
Votes continued to be counted Wednesday morning, and despite his narrow lead, El-Sayed appeared to be gearing up for the general election in November. He told MS NOW that his team was “focused on trying to figure out how we bring the party together” to defeat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers.
Both El-Sayed and Stevens took the stage after midnight to share their optimism with supporters. Neither have ceded as the count remains close.
“Tomorrow, we begin to mend fences,” El Sayed said. “Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to assure that we unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”
During her late-night speech, Stevens told supporters: “We knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got: a close race. But friends, I am feeling good about this race. I am feeling fired up,” according to the New York Times.
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Even though the race had not been called, El-Sayed sent out a fundraising email around 7 a.m. Wednesday reading “We won.” He was declared the winner by NBC News, though other major media outlets, including the and The New York Times, had not yet named a winner at the time the email was sent.
While many more progressive Democratic candidates have found success in the U.S. House primaries, including in New York and Denver, those cities are deep-blue cities, whereas Michigan is more mixed politically. Even as progressives have made strides across the country, former Rep. Cori Bush, known as a member of the “Squad,” lost her former St.Louis, Missouri-based seat in a Democratic primary rematch to Rep. Wesley Bell, who was also backed by AIPAC. However, a progressive victory in Michigan would indicate a more significant milestone for progressives.
The primary will likely be decided by outstanding votes in Wayne County, Michigan’s largest county and home to Detroit, which has historically released results later than others.It was not immediately clear when officials expected votes to be completely tallied.
Haley Stevens was backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Gary Peters (Getty)
El-Sayed was in the lead as initial results came in Tuesday night, but Stevens started closing that gap as votes came in from Wayne County.
Either El-Sayed or Stevens will face Rogers in the general election in November. Each candidate is looking to succeed Democratic Senator Gary Peters, the moderate incumbent who is set to retire.
Peters and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both endorsed Stevens, while El-Sayed received support from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in Congress, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
With reporting by the
Source: “AOL Breaking”
