Darren Lyn
05 August 2026•Update: 05 August 2026
Despite several news outlets declaring Abdul El-Sayed the winner of Michigan's US Senate Democratic primary over US Rep. Haley Stevens on Tuesday, El-Sayedd stopped short of making that declaration himself.
"I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now," El-Sayed told supporters at his watch party. "Turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan, it's a big state."
With 93% of the ballots counted, El Sayed held a razor-thin lead of 48.7% of the vote to Stevens' 47.3%.
He credited his grassroots support for taking his progressive political campaign to the cusp of victory in the Democratic primary.
"Know that the billionaires, the corporations and the special interests, they weren't going to give up lightly," said El-Sayed.
"We all knew they were going to spend their money. We didn't know they were going to spend 70 million dollars of their money. We didn't know that they were going to outspend us 11 dollars to 1 dollar. And yet we're still standing."
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. The candidates are vying to fill the seat of retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters.
"And so as folks ask, if and when we win this race, how are you going to beat Mike Rogers and their money," El-Sayed told his supporters. "I want you to remind them that if we come through this, when we come through this ... that we'll have taken 70 million dollars on the chin and kept fighting back."
El-Sayed emphasized unity within the Democratic party, as Democrats prepare to face Rogers in the November midterm elections.
"To all of our supporters here tonight, watching on TV, tomorrow we begin to mend fences," he said. "Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to assure that we unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the US Senate."
