Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed Vie for Michigan Senate Seat

U.S. Representative Haley Stevens and progressive Abdul El-Sayed are the remaining candidates in Michigan's Democratic U.S. Senate primary on August 4. The race narrowed to two participants after State Senator Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign, although McMorrow will remain on the ballot.

Stevens is positioning herself as the most electable candidate to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in November, citing her history of winning competitive races. She has secured endorsements from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and has benefited from over $30 million in outside spending, including $13 million from the United Democracy Project super PAC. El-Sayed is running an anti-establishment campaign focused on Medicare for All, the abolition of ICE, and ending U.S. weapons sales to Israel, with support from the United Auto Workers.

Election officials are managing the impact of McMorrow's exit. In Kalamazoo and Marquette, clerks are instructing voters who already submitted absentee ballots for McMorrow to spoil them by July 24 to request replacements. Marquette City Clerk Kyle Whitney noted that spoiling a ballot requires a legal backup form to set aside the original vote. Early in-person voting is scheduled to begin on July 25.