AIPAC-linked spending tops $30 million backing Stevens
Abdul El-Sayed, the former Detroit public health director running for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Michigan, faces Rep. Haley Stevens in a race The Guardian described as tight ahead of the Aug. 4 primary, with recent polls showing the candidates within a few percentage points of each other.
El-Sayed has built a coalition broader than the faction he represented when he ran aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to The Guardian.
Outside groups, led by the pro-Israel lobbying network AIPAC and its affiliated political funds and committees, have poured roughly $30 million into the race on Stevens’ behalf, The Guardian reported, making Michigan one of the most expensive Democratic primaries in the country.
Lon Johnson, a former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party who supports Stevens, argued that El-Sayed’s politics could cost Democrats one of their best opportunities to retake control of the U.S. Senate, according to The Guardian.
“There is real concern that Abdul would not be able to beat [Republican Mike] Rogers and then potentially lose us a majority possibility in the Senate,” Johnson told The Guardian.
The race has drawn national attention and endorsements from prominent progressives. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have endorsed El-Sayed, MSNI previously reported, while Stevens has backing from party leaders and outside spending groups.
MSI previously reported that the primary will serve as a test of the Democratic Party’s direction, with August primaries in Michigan and Minnesota gauging whether progressive or moderate factions emerge with momentum heading into the fall.
The Republican nominee awaiting the primary winner is Mike Rogers, a former House member who lost the 2024 Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin by about 19,000 votes, according to CNN.
Rogers, who represented Michigan in the House from 2001 to 2015, ran for Senate in 2024 and lost to Slotkin by about 19,000 votes even as President Donald Trump carried the state, CNN reported. Trump has endorsed Rogers in his comeback campaign.