El-Sayed Wins Michigan Democratic Primary

Editors’ Notes

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Something opinions on the right were more likely to note is that the polls were wrong — again. They showed El-Sayed winning handily, but when the votes were counted, he won by just under 1 percentage point. A win is a win, especially in a swing state, but the margin is worth noting because other progressive candidates won decisively in deep blue districts. On one hand, yes, El-Sayed’s win is extremely notable because it proves the potential of progressive candidates nationwide, and on the other, is one candidate’s narrow win enough to call a trend across other swing states? Does El-Sayed’s win indicate anything about how a progressive candidate would fare in Georgia or Ohio? We’ll find out soon enough.

News about the Michigan Primary

Eyes were on Michigan this week as Abdul El-Sayed squeaked out a narrow win in his race against Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed was the more progressive candidate. While he isn’t a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he did earn their support with backing from people like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Stevens was endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The race was the most expensive Democratic primary in history, with Stevens spending $63.9M in ads compared to El-Sayed’s $7.3M. However, El-Sayed’s social media following of nearly 1M towered over Stevens 66,000. The race shows that progressive candidates are winning even in purple swing states.

Analysis and Opinions about El-Sayed

Opinions from the right saw El-Sayed’s win as a definitive turn for the Democrats. Opinions from the left were split. Some cheered El-Sayed’s win, while others suggested that the media was telling too simple of a story about what this means for the Democratic party.

A Free Press (Lean Right) columnist wrote, “In 2008, Obama had to renounce his association with an anti-American preacher to win his party’s nomination. In 2026, El-Sayed embraced an anti-American streaming star—and the Democrats didn’t care…[Hasan] Piker represents a strain of American politics that demonizes the republic…l-Sayed’s narrow victory is the clearest sign yet that his party’s old establishment is under siege.”

Ken Klippenstein (Lean Left) argued, “Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — basically the entire Democratic establishment endorsed Haley Stevens, a textbook party stooge. For her to still lose is a repudiation and humiliation of not just Stevens but the entire political death star behind her…El-Sayed’s insufficiently ‘big’ win is in fact the highest-level Democratic upset since Barack Obama…Something deeper is going on here in the United States. From coast to coast, and now in the heartland, people are defying the gatekeepers and voting for change.”

The National Review Editorial Board (Right) remarked, “The polls were wrong in Michigan, but the firebrand Israel-hater Abdul El-Sayed still pulled out a very narrow victory in the Senate Democratic primary after leading handily in opinion surveys…It is notable that El-Sayed forged his primary victory among educated white voters and showed notable weakness among working class and black voters, a well-established pattern now for DSA or DSA-type candidates — who claim to speak on behalf of the same people who keep rejecting them at the ballot box. This is an electoral opening for Rogers to try to exploit in November.”

Analyst Nate Silver (Lean Left) said, “It’s clear that progressives are rising in the Democratic Party overall. But it’s also clear that there’s a fair amount of race-by-race variance. Just tonight, in Missouri’s 1st congressional district, former Squad member Cori Bush lost to a moderate Democrat by 22 points in a comeback bid, while one of the most moderate Democrats in the House, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, easily advanced to the general election in Washington’s 3rd district. Roy Cooper is the Democratic nominee in North Carolina, and that hasn’t been particularly contentious. The media likes simple narratives, and ‘progressives rising’ is by no means wrong, but nobody should be bending the knee at this point.”