Abdul el-Sayed is projected to win the Democratic US Senate primary in Michigan, according to NBC, as he holds a narrow lead over Representative Haley Stevens, the party’s establishment wing pick in a key battleground state.The progressive el-Sayed led Stevens 48.6 percent to 47.3 percent with more than 95 percent of votes counted as of 7 a.m. EST Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, which hasn’t yet called the race for either candidate. Other outlets have also said the race is too close to call.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.El-Sayed’s projected victory will serve as a test of whether the insurgent left flank can win a general election in a Rust Belt state dominated by working-class, moderate voters. He’ll face off against Republican Mike Rogers, a well-known, former congressman endorsed by Donald Trump, who won the swing state in two of the last three presidential elections.Polls had forecast el-Sayed with as much as a double-digit lead over Stevens. Even with the narrower-than-projected result, el-Sayed’s win portends both a reckoning within the Democratic Party as well as smouldering ideological fissures with the Nov. 3 election looming.The 2026 Democratic primary season has been marked by the intra-party squabble between centrists and progressives over the party’s direction, but early Wednesday, el-Sayed downplayed those differences.“We’re against the way that outside money can buy politicians, can come in, flood elections, and too often there’s a pro quo that comes with that quid,” he told MS NOW. “But here’s the thing: the things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us.”With votes still being counted, Stevens has not conceded the race.“We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Stevens said at her Election Night event, noting that the result may not come out until Wednesday morning or later.“I am feeling fired up, and you should be too,” she added noting that they would need to pivot to facing Rogers.El-Sayed prevailing over Stevens is the biggest and most consequential of the wave of left-flank wins that started in New York and stretched as far as Colorado, leaving the careers of long-tenured — and centrist — Democrats in its wake.Detroit’s 1,100-seat Majestic Theater was crowded all Tuesday night with el-Sayed’s supporters who cheered every update as he kept a lead of more than 20,000 votes from about 11 p.m. onward.With the results remaining tight late in the night, el-Sayed called on his party to unite regardless of the race’s outcome.“Tomorrow, we begin to mend fences,” he said.As with other Democratic primary contests this year, the US’s relationship with Israel and the war with Iran were at the center of the race, with the candidates squaring off over how much Israel and lobbying groups supporting it in the US are influencing American policy in the region.El-Sayed has said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and accused Stevens of being influenced by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens countered that no one owns her vote and blamed Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for starting the war in Iran.The primary became a national obsession as Democrats try to capitalize on Trump’s low approval ratings and voter discontent with the economy to retake the Senate.More than $62 million in outside money was poured into the race, mostly for Stevens, as the party’s establishment tried to brush aside el-Sayed, a former county health director backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The amount includes $32 million from the super PAC arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The biggest outside group backing el-Sayed spent less than $600,000, according to AdImpact.The race is of national importance for both parties as Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to retake control of the chamber. Losing Michigan’s open seat, now held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters, would make that effort far more difficult.Some prominent Democrats had seen Stevens, 43, as a stronger candidate. She hauled in endorsements from Peters, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, retired Senator Debbie Stabenow and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.A poll conducted by Epic MRA in late July showed Stevens beating Rogers by two points with 44 percent of the vote in a head-to-head matchup, while Rogers topped el-Sayed 46 percent to 43 percent.If el-Sayed, 41, goes on to defeat Rogers, he would be the first Muslim to serve in the US Senate.El-Sayed brought in $14.5 million in individual donations, $5.3 million more than Stevens did as he sought to fund his efforts with grassroots efforts and eschewed corporate money.While el-Sayed emerged a winner Tuesday, another progressive hopeful fell in a Democratic primary — former Representative Cori Bush, who lost a rematch against Representative Wesley Bell in a St. Louis area district.Read more: Democrats lead Republicans on economy as Trump approval falls, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds