Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Democratic Senate Primary

Progressive outsider Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on August 4, 2026, defeating Representative Haley Stevens by approximately 15,000 votes. El-Sayed, a former director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services of Wayne County, secured the nomination despite a massive funding gap, spending $7.3 million against the $63.9 million spent in support of Stevens. Much of the funding for Stevens was provided by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

El-Sayed's victory was fueled by strong margins in college towns and Arab-American communities in southeastern Michigan, including Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck, where he won more than 70% of the vote. While Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pete Buttigieg have pledged their support for El-Sayed, Attorney General Dana Nessel declined to do so, citing concerns that El-Sayed's views on arming Israel express antisemitism.

El-Sayed now faces Republican candidate Mike Rogers in the general election. Rogers has accused El-Sayed of pledging support to the Muslim Brotherhood and believing that America deserved the September 11 attacks, though reports describe these claims as untrue.