Michiganders head to polls Aug. 4 to vote in a contentious Democratic Senate primary between the progressive Abdul El-Sayed and the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens – a race that has become a fight for the direction of the Democratic Party.
The latest polls show El-Sayed, who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, leading Stevens by as much as 15 points. Stevens is viewed as the moderate establishment candidate, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed her campaign.
While El-Sayed, a Detroit-based public health official, appears to have an edge among Democratic voters, Stevens could have a lead in the general election, according to a Aug. 2 EPIC-MRA poll obtained by USA TODAY. That poll showed Republic challenger former U.S.
Rep. Mike Rogers leading El-Sayed by 3 points in a general election matchup, while general-election voters preferred Stevens over Rogers by 2 points.
Progressive vs. moderate clash
El-Sayed's campaign takes a populist approach, with priorities to get "money out of politics," "money in your pockets" and "Medicare for all," according to his website. Israel has also become a campaign topic. On Aug. 3, controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker appeared with El-Sayed at his final campaign event. Piker, a staunchly anti-Israel streamer who has made comments supporting Hamas, campaigned with El-Sayed in April, prompting pushback from Jewish groups and moderate Democrats, who questioned El-Sayed's judgment and electability in the fall.
Despite El-Sayed's support from Democratic Socialists such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, he told CNN that he is "not somebody who is a socialist," adding, "I believe in capitalism. I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated."
Stevens' campaign takes a more typical Democratic approach, saying she will "continue to fight for Michiganders and our economy while standing up to the Trump-Musk chaos agenda." Stevens has relied heavily on her resume as a representative in Congress since 2019, her earlier position in the Obama administration and her record of winning in Michigan.
"I was here for the auto-rescue. I was here for the tough moment. I am not getting self-enriched while running for office," Stevens said in a July 29 interview, pointing to her Obama administration role as the chief of staff to the U.S. Auto Rescue Task Force.
The race has taken an increasingly combative tone. El-Sayed called Stevens the "least capable candidate in America." Stevens slammed El-Sayed's competitiveness in the general election in a post that accused the Muslim candidate of wanting to "blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans."
"I was capable of winning my competitive primary and general election. You lost. You lost by over twenty points to Gretchen Whitmer and you will lose to Mike Rogers by talking like this," Stevens said in the July 30 post.
El-Sayed contends that a more progressive candidate can beat a Republican in the swing state's general election. He told CBS News on Aug. 3 that it is "funny to me" that people say Michiganders vote for moderates when the state "voted for Donald Trump twice."
On the GOP side
Michigan is a key swing state, and this is a seat that Democrats need to hold if they want to win back control of the Senate.
The primary winner will succeed Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat who has held the seat since 2015. Peters announced in April that he was not seeking reelection.
President Donald Trump endorsed Rogers, the only Republican Senate candidate. Both Michigan Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2002, but Trump carried the state in both the 2016 and 2024 elections. In 2024, Rogers lost the general election to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin by around 19,000 votes, or 0.3 percentage points.
On Aug. 3, Trump weighed in on the primary, calling Stevens a "socialist" and El-Sayed a "communist."
"You have a communist vs a socialist," Trump said in the Oval Office. "It looks like the communist is leading."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan Democrats split over Abdul El-Sayed, Haley Stevens Senate race
