CHICAGO: Michigan Democrats headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and establishment-backed US Rep. Haley Stevens in a fiercely contested primary for the state’s open US Senate seat.
El-Sayed, an Egyptian-American public health specialist, and Stevens, a four-term member of Congress, are seeking to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
The winner will face former Republican congressman Mike Rogers, who is unopposed for his party’s nomination, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Recent polling suggested a close race, with some surveys giving El-Sayed a narrow lead despite an enormous disparity in outside spending between the two candidates.
The contest has become one of the most closely watched Democratic primaries of the 2026 election cycle, reflecting wider divisions within the party over Israel, healthcare, corporate influence and the direction Democrats should take ahead of the next presidential election.
Record outside spending
Stevens has benefited from more than $50 million in outside spending, much of it from pro-Israel political groups and organizations whose donors are not fully disclosed.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliated groups have spent close to $30 million supporting Stevens or opposing El-Sayed — the largest investment AIPAC has made in a single election contest.
That money has funded an extensive advertising campaign across television, radio, newspapers, digital platforms and direct mail.
El-Sayed has received considerably less outside support, although the Associated Press reported that he had raised more money directly from individual donors than Stevens. He has sought to portray the contest as a battle between grassroots organizing and powerful national interest groups.
Despite the spending imbalance, El-Sayed has remained competitive, consolidating support among progressives, younger voters and many members of Michigan’s large Arab American community.
Stevens has the support of much of the Democratic establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. El-Sayed has been endorsed by progressive figures including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Israel at the center of the race
Although both candidates have campaigned heavily on Michigan’s economy and the cost of living, their disagreement over Israel and the war in Gaza has dominated the closing stages of the primary.
Stevens has defended continued US military assistance to Israel, while El-Sayed has called for an end to unconditional military aid and argued that American taxpayer money should instead be invested in healthcare, schools and other domestic priorities.
El-Sayed has repeatedly accused AIPAC and other outside groups of attempting to buy the election. Stevens, meanwhile, has accused him of focusing excessively on the organization and of using rhetoric that could encourage antisemitism.
The dispute intensified when Stevens wrote on social media that El-Sayed wanted to blame his problems on Jewish Americans. El-Sayed and his supporters responded that criticism of AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying organization, should not be conflated with criticism of Jewish Americans.
El-Sayed has described Israel’s conduct in Gaza using terms including “apartheid” and “genocide,” while insisting that he supports equal political and human rights for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis.
“I believe in equal rights, peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike,” he said during a CNN interview.
El-Sayed said decisions about the region’s eventual political arrangements should be made by the people who live there, while his responsibility as a US senator would be to determine how American taxpayer money is spent.
He has argued that federal money currently used to support foreign military operations should be redirected to Michigan communities struggling with the cost of food, fuel, healthcare, housing and education.
Stevens has countered that US assistance to Israel is an important national-security commitment and has accused El-Sayed of failing to provide direct answers about Israel’s future and right to exist.
Healthcare divide
The candidates also differ sharply on healthcare.
El-Sayed is campaigning for Medicare for All, which would expand the federal Medicare program to provide comprehensive coverage to every American without premiums, deductibles or copayments.
He has said the program should include medical, dental, vision and hearing care, while making private insurance largely unnecessary.
“I am the only candidate for the US Senate in Michigan running to guarantee healthcare for every single American,” El-Sayed said.
“No one should have to choose between getting the care they need and going into debt in the richest, most powerful country in the world.”
Stevens opposes a single-payer Medicare for All system and instead supports building on the Affordable Care Act, including through the creation of a government-backed public insurance option. The healthcare dispute has emerged as one of the clearest domestic-policy differences between the candidates.
Contrasting backgrounds
El-Sayed earned a medical degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017 and later headed Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services.
El-Sayed unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Michigan in 2018 before returning to public-health administration.
Stevens was first elected to Congress in 2018 and represents Michigan’s 11th Congressional District.
Before entering Congress, she worked on the Obama administration’s auto-industry rescue efforts and helped establish the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy. She later worked at a Chicago-based manufacturing research institute focused on digital technology and the future of industrial employment.
Stevens has emphasized that experience throughout the campaign, presenting herself as a pragmatic legislator with strong connections to Michigan’s manufacturing and automotive industries.
El-Sayed has instead presented himself as an anti-establishment candidate prepared to challenge corporate donors, private health insurers and Washington lobbying organizations.
Arab American candidates
The intensity of the Senate campaign has overshadowed several state and congressional primaries in and around Dearborn, where Arab American candidates are seeking office.
Former Michigan House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash is running for the Democratic nomination in the 1st State Senate District, while Uncommitted Movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh is contesting the Democratic primary in the 2nd District.
In Michigan’s 3rd House District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Alabas Farhat faces challenges from Hussein Berry, a former Dearborn Board of Education trustee, and community activist Othman Ali Alaansi.
Republican Amir Hassan is also seeking a US House seat in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.
Polls close at 8 p.m. local time.
