Supporters Like Racquel Garcia of Dearborn Praised His Record of Showing Up for Residents at Permit Hearings

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive physician and former Detroit public health official, won Michigan's Democratic US Senate primary on Tuesday, defeating establishment-backed moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens by a narrow 48.5% to 47.5% margin. The victory in the battleground state signals a shift in swing-state politics, with El-Sayed centering his campaign on universal healthcare and calling the war in Gaza a genocide. He now faces Republican Mike Rogers in the general election, a race that could redefine the 2028 presidential contest.

El-Sayed, who lost to Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, built a grassroots machine with over 200,000 doors knocked and 1 million phone calls, holding more than 500 events and visiting 150 churches. Supporters like Racquel Garcia of Dearborn praised his record of showing up for residents at permit hearings. The narrow win, with over 60,000 votes going to a dropped-out candidate, suggests he must unite the party and court independents to beat Rogers.

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