NewzWASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan voters will decide a competitive Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday in a contest that not only has implications for control of the chamber next year but will also test the growing clout of the party’s progressive wing as well as that of a powerful pro-Israel organization. The state is one of the nation’s most competitive electoral battlegrounds, as the last three presidential elections firmly established.
In 2026, in addition to the pivotal U.S. Senate contest, Michigan will host fiercely contested races for governor, U.S. Progressives scored high-profile victories in the past year with the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s mayor and several U.S.
House primaries where progressive candidates defeated longtime Democratic incumbents. While those contests all were waged on safe, heavily Democratic turf, the race to replace Democratic U.S. Gary Peters is expected to be a marquee matchup in the November general election, raising the stakes of Tuesday’s Democratic primary between U.S.
Haley Stevens and former Detroit public health official Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens has endorsements from much of the state’s Democratic establishment, including Peters, term-limited Gov. Debbie Stabenow and state Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Her notable out-of-state backers include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina U.S. Jim Clyburn, who recently campaigned with Stevens in heavily Democratic Detroit. El-Sayed has endorsements from prominent progressive leaders including U.S.
Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and U.S. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. But Stevens has benefitted from heavy spending by outside groups, including a committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
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