The high-profile Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat remained close Wednesday morning, with progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed clinging to a narrow lead over the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens.
With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, El-Sayed, a former local public health official, had 48.6 percent of the vote to 47.3 percent for Stevens, The Associated Press reported. Former state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the race last month but remained on the ballot, had 4 percent.
The intense and expensive race pitted Democrats’ establishment and progressive wings against each other and drew more than $80 million in spending and sparked several personal attacks, which could make it more challenging for the winner to unite the party against former Rep. Mike Rogers, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination Tuesday.
El-Sayed had the backing of prominent progressive politicians, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Stevens had much of the party establishment behind her, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
U.S. policy on Israel became a defining issue in the race, as did the political power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the role of corporate money in politics. El-Sayed, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, criticized Stevens over her votes to continue funding Israel’s military and the roughly $30 million spent on her behalf by AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project.
