Abdul El-Sayed consolidates the left-wing wave within the Democratic Party in Michigan primaries
The victory of the progressive candidate in the 'swing state' deepens the crisis that the party's establishment is experiencing
WashingtonAbdul El-Sayed has confirmed that the anti-establishment wave within the Democratic Party is not a cosmopolitan fever. After a tight vote count that stretched into Wednesday morning, the progressive candidate has declared himself the winner of Michigan's Senate primaries against Congresswoman Haley Stevens. The electoral contest in this Midwestern state has been one of the most expensive due to the amount of money the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC has injected into Stevens' candidacy in a finally failed attempt to unseat El-Sayed.
Muslim, a doctor, and the son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed is the latest progressive and outsider to have managed to unseat candidates backed by the Democratic Party establishment. His victory adds to that of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in the Colorado and New York primaries for the November legislative elections. El-Sayed's case, however, carries more weight because it calls into question the criticism that has been made so far about the rise of the progressive wing: that it can only work in staunchly Democratic states.
Michigan is a swing state where in 2024 Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by a margin of only 80,000 votes. With over 10 million inhabitants, it is the tenth most populous state in the country, making it an early laboratory for how a more left-leaning and markedly populist agenda can work in the rest of the US, although the final test will be on November 3, when he faces Republican candidate Mike Rogers for a Senate seat that could be crucial for Democrats to regain the upper chamber.
El-Sayed has advocated for public healthcare ("Medicare for All"), has spoken out against AIPAC, and has denounced the genocide in Gaza. Nevertheless, the 41-year-old progressive has shied away from left-right labels, preferring to talk about "a movement for the people." "Whether you supported me or not, whether you voted for Vice President Harris in 2024 or you voted for Donald Trump; if, like me, you believe you should be able to afford groceries; if, like me, you believe you should be able to afford housing; if, like me, you believe your taxes should be invested in you and not sent elsewhere; if, like me, you believe that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people is a birthright in this country [...] I hope you will join this movement," El-Sayed argued this morning in a press conference following the confirmation of the results.
El-Sayed's triumph sends a clear message to the party leadership about rank-and-file discontent and the need to find a new narrative that appeals to voters' material needs. "What we've shown is that if you're willing to build a movement brick by brick, if you're willing to go across your entire state and have conversations in large and small rooms, starting when people aren't even paying attention to an election but to the price of gas, food, housing, and healthcare, then you can build a conversation that ends up becoming a movement capable of defeating Goliath," he celebrated.