El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, in November in a race that will help determine control of the Senate. His first challenge will be unifying Democratic factions after a bitter primary that offered divergent visions for a party desperate for a path back to power.
Stevens, who pledged her support for El-Sayed after conceding defeat, was backed by the Democratic establishment, including outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, whose retirement spurred a scramble to fill his seat. El-Sayed promised a more aggressive approach for confronting entrenched corporate interests and President Donald Trump, and declared his victory was nothing short of a political earthquake despite only scraping by Stevens.
“In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world,” he said.
Progressives have been gaining strength this year
The Associated Press declared El-Sayed the winner having confirmed that — after Wednesday morning updates in election returns in Wayne and Oakland counties, two of the state’s largest in the Detroit area — there were simply not enough votes left to count that would allow Stevens to catch up and overtake him as the leader.
