Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate Democratic primary, faces Mike Rogers
Abdul El-Sayed is a doctor who was born in Detroit, Michigan.
He just won a special voting contest called a primary election.
Winning the primary means he is now the Democratic Party's pick to become a US Senator from Michigan.
In the primary, he beat another Democrat named Haley Stevens.
El-Sayed wants everyone in America to have affordable healthcare, a plan he calls 'Medicare for All.'
He also wants the United States to stop sending military money to Israel.
Many well-known leaders, like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, supported his campaign.
A big union called the United Auto Workers supported him too.
Now he will compete in the main election in November against a Republican named Mike Rogers.
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, won Michigan's Democratic US Senate primary, defeating moderate Representative Haley Stevens, who was backed by the party establishment.
He will face Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election to represent the midwestern battleground state in the Senate.
El-Sayed was endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, and the United Auto Workers union.
He campaigned on 'Medicare for All', ending US military aid to Israel, and campaign finance reform, and has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
El-Sayed, 41, launched his campaign in April 2025 with a staff of four, and previously lost Michigan's 2018 gubernatorial primary to Gretchen Whitmer by more than 20 percentage points.
- Who
- Abdul El-Sayed, a 41-year-old progressive former public health official from Detroit, who defeated moderate US Representative Haley Stevens.
- What
- Won Michigan's Democratic primary for the US Senate and will now face Republican Mike Rogers in November's general election.
- When
- Announced with a victory speech on Wednesday, after the primary held ahead of November's midterm elections.
- Where
- Michigan, US; El-Sayed was born in Detroit and lives in Ann Arbor.
- Why
- He says life in America shouldn't be this hard and campaigned on 'Medicare for All', ending US military aid to Israel, and campaign finance reform.
Progressive left
Establishment/moderate wing
Direction of the Democratic Party in Michigan
Progressive left
El-Sayed's leftwing campaign, backed by Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and Warren, argues Michigan Democrats should champion 'Medicare for All', ending US military aid to Israel, and campaign finance reform.
Establishment/moderate wing
The party establishment backed moderate Representative Haley Stevens, favoring a more centrist candidate to lead the party's Senate ticket in the battleground state.
US military aid and the war in Gaza
Progressive left
El-Sayed has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and demands an end to US military aid to Israel, making it a central part of his platform.
Establishment/moderate wing
His demand would reverse the prevailing policy of continued US military aid to Israel; the article does not state Stevens' or the establishment's own position on the issue.
- Winner
- Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan Democratic US Senate primary)
- Defeated opponent
- Haley Stevens, a moderate US representative backed by the party establishment
- Republican opponent
- Mike Rogers (November general election)
- Age
- 41
- Born
- Detroit, Michigan, to an Egyptian father and an American mother
- Campaign platform
- Medicare for All, ending US military aid to Israel, campaign finance reform
- Key endorsements
- Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, United Auto Workers
- Education
- University of Michigan, Columbia University medical degree, Oxford University doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar