Messy Michigan primary leaves Democrats licking wounds

Abdul El-Sayed faces a critical three-month period to rally a divided Democratic Party following a contentious primary.

Even before his narrow victory over moderate Rep. Haley Stevens was confirmed on Wednesday, El-Sayed had already started efforts to reconcile with the moderate faction of the party, which he had criticized during the campaign. Meanwhile, Republicans geared up their initial attacks for the general election. El-Sayed expressed his desire to “build relationships” with Jewish voters. Key Democrats from Michigan and Washington are uniting behind him in preparation for the high-stakes November election.

“To all of our supporters here tonight, watching on TV, tomorrow we begin to mend fences,” El-Sayed announced to supporters early Wednesday, urging them to demonstrate “magnanimity in victory.”

Later, on MS NOW’s Morning Joe, El-Sayed emphasized the need to unify the party, stating, “We need to move forward and start bringing this party together.”

In a victory speech after the race was officially called at 10 a.m. Eastern, he reiterated, “Whatever differences that we might have had in the primary, they pale in comparison to what unifies us.”

El-Sayed must quickly mend party divisions before facing Mike Rogers, a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump with support from Washington’s GOP Senate apparatus. Michigan, a key battleground, was narrowly won by Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin over Rogers in 2024.

Early voting starts in five weeks.

Prominent Michigan Democrats like Slotkin and Rep. Debbie Dingell are working to rally support for El-Sayed from both moderate and progressive wings after a divisive primary focused on Israel and campaign finance issues.

“We do have to unite,” Dingell stated in an interview. “Abdul’s got to figure out how he’s going to bring people that were part of Haley’s coalition and have them know that he cares about the values that they have, which I know he does, but he’s got to talk to them. This coalition has got to be a very broad coalition.”

Michigan Democrats plan a post-primary “unity breakfast” Thursday in Southfield to rally behind party nominees. The race was decided by less than a percentage point when the AP called it Wednesday morning. Stevens conceded and called for unity. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped her Senate bid before the primary, had already endorsed El-Sayed, emphasizing the need for a unified party going into November after a tough primary.

“We must elect Democrats up and down the ballot,” Stevens said in a statement on Wednesday, promising her support to El-Sayed and describing the primary as “a thorough and rigorous campaign that brought out the full span of views within the Democratic Party.”

The primary was marked by allegations of sexism, racism, and religious bigotry. Disagreements over Israel were significant, with El-Sayed criticizing Stevens for outside spending from groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent $32 million on her behalf. In the final days, Stevens and her allies accused El-Sayed of antisemitism and sexism, while El-Sayed’s allies accused Stevens of Islamophobia.

Outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, who had backed Stevens, congratulated El-Sayed and pledged to work hard to unify Democrats behind him.

“The party has to all come together right now,” Peters told POLITICO. “We don’t have a lot of time, but 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.”

Republicans are already targeting El-Sayed, labeling him “radical” and “dangerous” while emphasizing his full name.

“Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, the most radical Senate candidate in America,” a new National Republican Senatorial Committee ad says.

“Abdul El-Sayed: Dangerously radical,” states a new Senate Leadership Fund ad.

In a statement on Wednesday, Rogers called El-Sayed an “extremist” who “campaigns with people who refuse to condemn terrorism,” likely referencing comments by his ally, Hasan Piker, which Piker later regretted. “I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice,” Rogers said. “Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11.”

Cullen Schwarz, a Democratic strategist in Michigan, suggests that Democrats should paint Rogers as the extremist in order to win the crucial Senate race.

“As Democrats move forward, I hope we remember that in politics, the real battle is over moving the Overton window,” he said. “The Republicans are going to try to paint progressives across the country as extreme. It’s extreme to support Donald Trump.”

If that is the framework, Schwarz believes Democrats will easily reunite. “Democrats will immediately remember the fight we’re facing in the fall,” he said. “There’s been no force more unifying for Democrats than Donald Trump.”

El-Sayed faces challenges in rural, working-class areas and among Black voters. He secured only 34 percent of the vote in Detroit, according to unofficial returns. Stevens won a majority in counties where less than 30 percent of adults have a college degree, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Matt Duss, a former adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, urges Democrats from Michigan to Washington to support El-Sayed.

“Frankly, the Democratic establishment needs to very quickly consolidate around him — all of them,” said Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy. “If they believe what they say about needing to take Michigan for Democrats in the Senate, they can show us by getting all in behind El-Sayed right now.”

El-Sayed’s rise from a challenging primary, marked by unprecedented outside spending in a critical battleground, requires some Washington Democrats who previously distanced themselves to now support him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who favored Stevens in the primary, released a statement Wednesday expressing his and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand’s intention to work with El-Sayed and Michigan Democrats to win in November.

The close result is prompting progressives, who anticipated a decisive victory, to adjust their expectations for the general election.

“Tough result for Democrats,” said Adrian Hemond, founder of a Michigan-based bipartisan advocacy and outreach firm. “The promised populist wave was a dud… If you think the primary was nasty, just wait until next week. General election voters are less college educated and less ideological, so they have to find a way to sell ideology to normal people.”

Jessica Piper, Adam Wren, Ali Bianco, and Mia McCarthy contributed reporting.