Abdul El-Sayed won the U.S. Senate Democrat primary in Michigan, narrowly beating Rep. Haley Stevens, who wasn’t expected to have a chance last night. Reports indicated that Stevens’ pollster said they were doomed and trailing by double digits. That wasn’t accurate: rural and black voters turned out in large numbers for Stevens, who just barely lost to El-Sayed. So, yes, the far Left has its victory, so to speak: they secured a big primary win. The bad news is that there are warning signs everywhere that El-Sayed will face significant challenges in the general election. 

For former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, you have to be pleased with this result. A Michigan flip here almost guarantees the GOP will retain control of the Senate. NBC News called the race earlier this morning:

Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s slugfest of a Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects, clinching the nomination in a close race over Rep. Haley Stevens and establishing a Midwest beachhead for a progressive left on the march this midterm cycle.

El-Sayed overcame a nearly $65 million onslaught of outside money and an establishment that had rallied around Stevens. Popular Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Stevens late last month — a move seen as a last-ditch effort to stop a rising El-Sayed.

[…]

The closing month of the primary grew increasingly hostile, especially after a third Democrat, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, dropped out last month. McMorrow had tried to cut a path between Stevens and El-Sayed, running as a compromise candidate who could appeal both to moderates and the progressive left.

But the flood of TV ads in Stevens’ behalf and the energy around El-Sayed’s Sanders-backed campaign left little room for McMorrow, and the differences between the two remaining Democrats became even more pronounced once their mutual rival exited.

Stevens often accused El-Sayed of focusing too much on national politics and not enough on Michigan. The July 24 endorsement from Whitmer, who beat El-Sayed in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor, helped underline Stevens’ argument. So did a recent call El-Sayed held with donors.

On the call, audio of which leaked to NBC News and others, El-Sayed said a victory for him in Michigan could reverberate into 2028 and encourage primary challengers against the likes of Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has fallen out of favor with the left. He characterized such a move as putting “an ogre on a pike” — rhetoric that some Democrats believed was targeted at Stevens, though El-Sayed had described Fetterman as an “ogre” in the past.


It’s disgusting that a man with ties to Hasan Piker and other terrorist sympathizers got this far, but with only a 1.8-point margin of victory. Still, there are signs that white, liberal suburbanites are increasingly forming a crimpeline suit brigade. In Stevens’ home county, she wasn’t defeating El-Sayed decisively, which likely contributed to her falling short here.


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