Abdul El-Sayed declared victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary by a thin margin, becoming the first Democratic Socialists of America-backed Senate nominee in American history, in a state Donald Trump won in 2024, against an opponent who outspent him with AIPAC backing, after a primary campaign in which he called female Democratic establishment politicians “ogres on a pike” and declined to apologize, said Black Democratic leaders “defang the white left,” reported a 2025 household income of $686,069 while running on economic justice, and refused to release his tax returns. AIPAC spent approximately $60 million opposing him. He won.
Fox News’s Charlie Hurt noted on the network’s primary live blog that El-Sayed’s policy agenda matches the DSA platform “perfectly” on Medicare for All and abolishing ICE. El-Sayed told Reuters: “I would rather spend our money on healthcare and schools and infrastructure here at home rather than bombing other people elsewhere,” which is the sentence that covers his position on Israel and frames it as an economic argument simultaneously. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, described the Michigan race as “ground zero in the battle for the future of the Democratic Party pitting status quo corporate Democrats against shake up the system economic fighters.” El-Sayed won the ground.
His general election opponent is Mike Rogers, the former Republican congressman and Senate nominee who told Fox News upon learning El-Sayed had declared victory: “I have never seen someone so radical, so extreme, get nominated by a political party. This is really about the heart and soul of our country.” Rogers was talking about the Democratic Party’s nominee in a swing state Trump won, running on abolishing ICE, ending military aid to Israel, and Medicare for All, with an income of $686,069 and unreleased tax returns.
The race result could reshape how prospective Democratic presidential candidates address Israel heading into 2028, per Fox News’s confirmed live blog analysis. Sen. John Fetterman called El-Sayed “a phony.” The RNCC has the ogre-on-a-pike quote. The general election is in November in a state Trump won.
He won the primary. November is next. Rogers is ready.
When the DSA’s first Senate nominee calls female party leaders ogres and hides his taxes and earns $686,000 running on economic justice and wins anyway, what exactly did the Democratic Party nominate?
Sources
Fox News: 2026 primary results live
HuffPost: Live Updates — El-Sayed declares victory
HuffPost: Michigan’s Senate Democratic Primary Is Latest Test Of The Progressive Movement’s Power
HuffPost: The GOP Is Boosting A Progressive Candidate In Michigan. He Says He’ll Make Them ‘Rue The Day.’
