El-Sayed leads polls with backing from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez
In an interview with the New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, said she believes El-Sayed offers the party its best chance of winning the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
“Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times. “I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now.”
The Guardian described the race as a proxy for the party’s broader ideological rift between insurgent and establishment-backed candidates.
El-Sayed, a physician and former public health director, is hoping to capitalize on momentum from other progressives who have notched congressional primary wins in recent months, the report said. He now leads his challengers in the latest polls.
His populist economic platform includes banning tax incentives for companies such as Amazon, imposing new taxes on billionaires, eliminating medical debt and strengthening anti-monopoly laws to curb corporate price gouging, according to the report.
El-Sayed welcomed Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement in a post on X, writing: “AOC has spent her career taking on the powerful on behalf of everyday people, and she has shown all of us what courageous, smart, values-driven leadership looks like. I’m deeply honored to earn her endorsement. Onward to victory.”
The Democratic nominee in Michigan is likely to face former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, in the general election. Rogers ran for Senate in 2024 and lost to Elissa Slotkin by less than 0.5% of the vote, despite former President Donald Trump carrying the state, according to the report.