Stevens campaign cites private poll showing tie with El-Sayed
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Establishment Democrats have argued that Republicans are eager to run against Abdul El-Sayed in the general election, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, because his left-wing policy views could turn off swing voters in a state that President Donald Trump carried in 2016 and 2024.
Stevens, a four-term moderate congresswoman, described herself as a “workhorse” competing against a “show horse,” contrasting her legislative record with El-Sayed’s background as a former Detroit health official. She declined an interview request for the Journal article.
El-Sayed dismissed the electability criticism in an interview, saying that establishment politicians lack clear positions. “It’s risky to put up a candidate who does not actually have clear positions on most of the issues that everybody wants,” he said. “It’s risky to tell people that the best thing we can do with our tax dollars is send them abroad to drop bombs on other people rather than to invest here.”
The race narrowed from a three-way contest after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign on July 5. McMorrow had tried to position herself as a middle-path alternative but struggled to compete with El-Sayed’s antiestablishment appeal and to raise sufficient funds.
El-Sayed entered the race as arguably the front-runner, according to early polls. A private poll circulated by Stevens’ campaign last week showed a statistical tie between the two in a head-to-head matchup, with roughly 20% of primary voters undecided. El-Sayed called the poll biased, maintaining that he remains the front-runner.
The endorsement lineup reveals virtually every division unsettling the party. El-Sayed is backed by Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the United Auto Workers. Stevens is endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Schumer, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, several unions, pro-Israel groups, and EMILY’s List.
A super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the United Democracy Project, has been the largest outside spender on advertising in the primary, according to AdImpact data. Groups supporting Stevens have significantly outspent El-Sayed’s supporters on total ad buys.
El-Sayed supports Medicare for all, free child care, and has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.” He wants to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He has campaigned with influencer Hasan Piker, who has faced allegations of antisemitism.
Stevens, whose views are less overtly progressive, supports a healthcare public option, removing the Social Security payroll tax cap on earnings above $184,500, and nationalizing paid family leave.
The primary has drawn attention from Democratic Socialists of America members, whom Trump and other Republicans have attacked as “communism.” El-Sayed said he is “not technically or practically DSA,” though supporters at his events have included DSA-aligned activists.
One such supporter, 34-year-old regulatory analyst Nikolai Pieniazek, attended a park gathering before a debate with Stevens. “Younger voters don’t think of socialism as a boogeyman,” said Pieniazek, who wore a Bernie Sanders cap. He said he works for El-Sayed because Stevens is backed by AIPAC, corporate interests, and Schumer.
At a church basement event in suburban Detroit, roughly 250 people packed in to hear El-Sayed. Retiree Bev Clark, 68, said: “The government has been stuck in the mud, and I don’t hear Haley Stevens saying anything that will change that. El-Sayed is independent in his thinking. He’s really dynamic.”
El-Sayed argued for a regulated capitalism, saying the U.S. is in “nonfunctional capitalism that creates trillionaires and makes it harder for every person to create basic wealth.” He said he would rather have an economy that “makes a thousand millionaires than one billionaire.”
Republicans are expected to nominate former Rep. Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate election. The seat is open because incumbent Democrat Gary Peters is not seeking a third term, and Democrats must hold it to have a realistic chance of reclaiming the Senate majority in November.