Progressive El-Sayed scores upset in US Democratic Senate primary in Michigan

Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Democratic nomination for the US Senate, defeating Rep. Haley Stevens in a closely fought primary, the Associated Press projected Wednesday.

El-Sayed will face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed, in the Nov. 3 midterm election. The seat is open following the retirement of Sen. Gary Peters and is considered crucial to Democratic hopes of regaining control of the US Senate.

Stevens later said she would support him in the general election.

“Tomorrow we begin to mend fences,” El-Sayed told supporters before the AP called the race.

The former Wayne County health director campaigned on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, and ending US military aid to Israel. He was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who push for similar progressive causes among Democrats.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the result “should be a wake-up call to the Washington Democratic establishment.”

Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Peters, focused her campaign on manufacturing and argued she was better positioned to defeat Rogers.

Her campaign also benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including what was reported to be the largest-ever investment by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in a single race.

‘Getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket’

After being declared the winner in Michigan's Democratic primary, El-Sayed -- the Michigan-born son of Egyptian immigrants -- warned Republican critics against using his name to stoke political attacks, saying: “My name is not raising your gas prices. My name is not taking us to war. My name is not the reason you can't afford your groceries.”

He also took aim at his Republican opponent, telling supporters that Rogers should keep his name "out of his damn mouth" if he could not pronounce it correctly.

El-Sayed said his general election campaign would focus on “getting money out of politics, putting money in your pocket.”

He accused Rogers of serving corporate interests during his time in Congress.

"Mike's a guy who spent 14 years in Congress with one goal: to figure out how to cash out the day he left," El-Sayed said. “As soon as he left Congress, after having taken corporate check after corporate check after corporate check to empower the corporations to pick your pockets, he went and he cashed out.”

The Democrat also highlighted his primary victory despite facing an unprecedented wave of outside spending. According to his campaign, more than $60 million was spent by outside groups backing his Democratic primary opponent, Stevens, including roughly $32 million from AIPAC, whose involvement became a central issue throughout the race.

Continuing his criticism of AIPAC, El-Sayed nevertheless sought to reassure Jewish voters, saying his commitment to their security is unwavering.

"To all of my sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith, or any faith at all, or no faith at all, I want you to know that my commitment to your safety -- to Jewish safety -- is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters," he said.