Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Primary; Trump, Democrats Offer Reactions

Abdul El-Sayed secured a narrow victory in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan last week, defeating Rep. Haley Stevens by less than one percentage point.

Outside groups supporting Stevens spent over $60 million, with more than $30 million coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and pro-Israel organizations. El-Sayed, who has called for an end to US military aid to Israel, will now face Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election. His campaign heavily utilized new media, including online influencers and streamers like Hasan Piker, who appeared alongside El-Sayed at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Piker has over three million followers on Twitch. On Monday, President Donald Trump called Democrats jihadists and criticized El-Sayed as a hater of Jews and hater of Israel at a Las Vegas campaign event last week. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) stated on Monday that El-Sayed's response to her concerns about the state's Democratic Convention implied he might deserve threats.

Nessel also called for El-Sayed to tone down his rhetoric amid antisemitic threats. El-Sayed disavowed Piker's 9/11 remarks as dumb on Sunday but decried cancel culture. Republican Mike Rogers falsely claimed El-Sayed believes "America deserved 9/11." El-Sayed previously argued that toxic masculinity governs American football and that sports culture contains misogyny, racism, and homophobia. He supports Medicare-for-all, acknowledging it would require higher taxes.

Democratic strategist James Carville backed El-Sayed against Rogers, while Vice President Vance called El-Sayed crazy after El-Sayed referred to Vance as "Peter Thiel's boy." Early voting in Michigan begins October 24 and ends November 1, 2026, with Election Day on November 3, 2026.