Abdul El-Sayed narrowly beat Rep. Haley Stevens Wednesday in a rancorous Democratic primary for the Michigan senate race, the latest in a string of primary victories the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has achieved against more moderate candidates.
With over 95 percent of the votes counted, El-Sayed won 48.5 percent of primary voters, compared to Stevens’s 47.5 percent. The one-percent margin was considerably closer than in pre-election polling, where El-Sayed was frequently reported as having a double-digit lead over Stevens.
El-Sayed’s victory is a bitter defeat for establishment Democrats. Stevens was endorsed by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, had the backing of the state’s traditionally powerful black community, and benefited from millions of dollars poured into the race by outside groups.
Support for Israel became a major issue of the campaign. Stevens, a pro-Israel candidate, was the beneficiary of $32 million in spending from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Democratic voters, however, have cooled on Israel, a situation that appears to have benefitted El-Sayed. A Muslim of Egyptian extraction, El-Sayed has said that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip is a genocide and proposed using the money the U.S. currently sends to Israel for social programs.
El-Sayed will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in November and would be the first Muslim to serve in the Senate.
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