Leftist Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeats establishment candidate in shock Michigan primary victory

Published on 05/08/2026 - 18:22 GMT+2

Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic party's Senate primary election in the US state of Michigan on Wednesday, highlighting key internal differences over the party's direction.

El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens - who was backed by many of the party's senior establishment figures such as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer - in what became a proxy battle for the party's direction.

He will now go on to face Republican Mike Rogers in November to keep Michigan's Senate seat with the Democrats.

November's elections will determine the makeup of Congress for US President Donald Trump's remaining time in power.

"We won," El-Sayed wrote in a post on X. "I am so proud to be your Democratic nominee for US Senate. Let's win in November".

During his campaign, El-Sayed, who trained as a doctor before working in public health, focused on affordability and healthcare, pledging "Medicare for All" and saying he would work to "get money out of politics" and "put money in your pocket."

His campaign website says he is running for the US Senate as he believes "life in America shouldn’t be this hard."

"As your Senator, Abdul will fight to build a government that works for you, not Elon Musk, Donald Trump, or their billionaire friends," it added.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the result "great news for the Republican Party" while labelling El-Sayed as "a communist loser who hates Jews and Israel."