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Updated on: August 5, 2026 / 9:42 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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Former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed, who is narrowly ahead in the state's Democratic Senate primary, said Wednesday that "there's a lot of healing to do after a hard-fought primary like this.""But I have said that this is a big open movement. We welcome anybody and everybody who understands that we need a government of the people, by the people, and for the people," El-Sayed said on "CBS Mornings."El-Sayed, 41, has been locked in a heated primary against Rep. Haley Stevens in the Great Lakes State for the Democratic nomination in a key Senate contest. El-Sayed's campaign declared victory earlier Wednesday morning, though he had just a narrow lead over moderate Haley Stevens as votes continued to be counted. CBS News characterizes the race as leaning toward El-Sayed. El-Sayed said he and Stevens had not had a chance to speak yet, adding "we've got to bring the party together, and I know both she and I are committed to doing that.""We've only got 13 weeks to beat a guy who has no business being in the U.S. Senate, and so I'm looking forward to that conversation," El-Sayed said. "I'm grateful for the hard-fought race that we had, and the things that united us, and the things that unify us are so much bigger than any of the things that divided us."The winner of the primary will face off against former Rep. Mike Rogers in November, who ran unopposed in the primary after narrowly losing to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 race for Michigan's other Senate seat. Michigan, traditionally a Democratic state, has voted for President Trump twice. The seat is among a handful that Democrats are defending this cycle, which are crucial to determining the party that controls the chamber.El-Sayed said his campaign set out from its start to "build a movement — to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for All."
