Abdul el Sayed achieved what progressives are hailing as the Democratic Party’s “biggest upset” in modern politics with his Michigan Senate primary win against establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).But the progressive insurgent, supported by socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), now faces his biggest test of all following a bruising primary to win over centrists, independents, and nonvoters in a general election against Republican Mike Rogers.And for as much as Democrats may oppose President Donald Trump, he once again becomes part of the recipe in their unity quest.
“This race needs to be a referendum on Donald Trump, and it needs to be a referendum on Mike Rogers,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris. “I think that it will naturally lend itself to that. But if Abdul allows the race to become a referendum on him, it becomes problematic for him.”For his part, el Sayed wasted little time taking aim at Trump and Rogers Wednesday after being declared the winner, as well as making overtures to those whose vote he failed to earn.“As bitter and as divisive and as cynical as the campaign against us might have been, I want us to realize there is so much more that unites us now, because the campaign that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump and their GOP MAGA allies are launching are already more bitter,” el Sayed said during his victory speech. “Whether you voted for me or voted for my opponent or didn’t vote at all, we’re inviting you to that movement to get money out of politics.”On paper, Democratic leaders are so far checking all the boxes to rally around el Sayed.Endorsements rolled in Wednesday from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the head of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm; both Democratic Michigan Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin; and both former primary opponents Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Schumer and Peters previously supported Stevens.Fundraising pitches for el Sayed from top Democrats to donors also went out in the hours after the race was called, including from Harris’s email contributor list and a group tied to the Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC.“The party has to all come together right now. We don’t have a lot of time,” said Peters, a former chairman of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. “Everybody has to come together and understand that as Democrats, whatever differences we have between us as Democrats are minor compared to the differences between our Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate.”The battleground race is to replace Peters, who is retiring from Congress after two terms in the Senate and three terms in the House. He declined to say if el Sayed, who champions progressive policies like “Medicare for all,” halting U.S. aid to Israel, taxing wealthy individuals and corporations, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, may need to now pivot toward the center.“He has to make those kinds of decisions as to how he approaches his campaign in the general,” Peters added. “It’s going to be up to him.”Abdul el Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, walks off stage after speaking during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
