Progressives Notch Michigan Win as Party's Civil War Moves to Wisconsin
Abdul El-Sayed's narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens reopens a fight over who speaks for Democrats
By Nathaniel "Beltway" Steele
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed beat Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary this week, a close win that NBC News projected and that immediately became a proxy fight over the party's direction.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose own insurgent politics have made him a touchstone for the party's left flank, said El-Sayed's victory put "working-class Americans back at the heart of our politics," according to the New York Times, while pushing back on characterizations of El-Sayed as a "mini-Mamdani."
Corbin Trent, a former national coordinator for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, told CBS News the result showed progressive organizing can still win statewide primaries even against an established incumbent. ABC News reported the win is one of several this cycle for progressive candidates, and that the party's next test over its future direction shifts to Wisconsin, where a similar establishment-versus-insurgent contest is taking shape ahead of November.
The Michigan primary produced another upset down-ballot: in the state's 8th Congressional District, Republican Thomas Smith won his primary despite having suspended his campaign in mid-July — and despite running against a candidate endorsed by President Trump, CBS News reported.
Taken together, the results complicate the tidy narratives both parties like to tell about themselves heading into the midterms. Democrats now face a genuine question of whether the El-Sayed model — direct appeals on affordability and class, aimed squarely at an incumbent's record — travels beyond Michigan. Wisconsin will be the next data point.
[Vote margins and full district results for the El-Sayed-Stevens race were not detailed in the available reporting; readers should look for state certification for final numbers.]
— Compiled from reporting by NBC News, The New York Times, ABC News and CBS News.
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