Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary, sets up Rogers race
Why it matters: The November contest could help decide Senate control, and Democrats now must unite after a costly primary split.
Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating Rep. Haley Stevens after a bruising and expensive intraparty fight. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, will face Republican Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters. The race is expected to be one of the year’s key Senate battlegrounds. Stevens had support from Democratic leaders and benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, but El-Sayed turned that imbalance into a central campaign issue. His win now gives Democrats a high-stakes test of whether a left-wing nominee can hold a swing-state seat and rebuild party unity before the general election.