Progressive Abdul El-Sayed clings to narrow lead in tight Michigan Senate Democratic primary

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed is on the precipice of a Democratic primary win in the race for Michigan’s Senate seat Wednesday morning, clinging to a narrow lead in an extremely tight race against centrist Rep. Haley Stevens.

A win for El-Sayed, a former public health official, would come as a shock to the Democratic establishment and to AIPAC, D.C.’s top Israel lobby group. Stevens, a moderate establishment-backed candidate, has received tens of millions of dollars from AIPAC in support of her campaign.

Votes continued to be counted Wednesday morning, and despite his narrow lead, El-Sayed appeared to be gearing up for the general election in November. He told MS NOW that his team was “focused on trying to figure out how we bring the party together” to defeat the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers.

Both El-Sayed and Stevens took the stage after midnight to share their optimism with supporters. Neither have ceded as the count remains close.

“Tomorrow, we begin to mend fences,” El Sayed said. “Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to assure that we unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”

During her late-night speech, Stevens told supporters: “We knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got: a close race. But friends, I am feeling good about this race. I am feeling fired up,” according to the New York Times.

Even though the race had not been called, El-Sayed sent out a fundraising email reading “We won” Wednesday morning. He was declared the winner by NBC News, though other major media outlets, including the Associated Press and The New York Times, have not yet named a winner.

While many more progressive Democratic candidates have found success in the U.S. House primaries, including in New York and Denver, those cities are deep-blue cities, whereas Michigan is more mixed politically. However, a progressive victory in Michigan would indicate a more significant milestone for progressives.

The primary will likely be decided by outstanding votes in Wayne County, Michigan’s largest county and home to Detroit, which has historically released results later than others. It was not immediately clear when officials expected votes to be completely tallied.

El-Sayed was in the lead as initial results came in Tuesday night, but Stevens started closing that gap as votes came in from Wayne County.

Either El-Sayed or Stevens will face Rogers in the general election in November. Each candidate is looking to succeed Democratic Senator Gary Peters, the moderate incumbent who is set to retire.

Peters and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both endorsed Stevens, while El-Sayed received support from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in Congress, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.