Ocasio-Cortez endorses El-Sayed in Michigan Senate primary

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, giving the progressive former Wayne County health director a high-profile boost in one of the party’s most closely watched battleground races.

The endorsement is Ocasio-Cortez’s first in a contested Senate primary this midterm cycle and places her on the opposite side of the race from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed is running against Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the August primary to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

“After watching this campaign unfold for well over a year, it has become clear that Abdul El-Sayed is the strongest candidate to keep this seat in November,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement released by El-Sayed’s campaign. “He is building a winning coalition by putting forward an agenda that speaks directly to working people.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez framed the race as part of a larger effort by Democrats to improve their chances in November. “Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” she said. “I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now.”

El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health director, has positioned himself as the most progressive candidate in the primary. The Guardian reported that he leads his challengers in the latest polls. His platform includes banning tax incentives for companies such as Amazon, imposing new taxes on billionaires, eliminating medical debt and strengthening anti-monopoly laws to curb corporate price gouging.

He also has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and is seeking to build on recent primary successes by progressive candidates. In a post on X, El-Sayed thanked Ocasio-Cortez for her support.

“AOC has spent her career taking on the powerful on behalf of everyday people, and she has shown all of us what courageous, smart, values-driven leadership looks like,” he wrote. “I’m deeply honored to earn her endorsement. Onward to victory.”

Stevens and McMorrow have also drawn major endorsements. Stevens has been endorsed by The Detroit News editorial board and Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Chris Coons of Delaware, among other elected officials. McMorrow has been endorsed by the Detroit Free Press editorial board and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, among others.

A spokesperson for Stevens’ campaign declined to comment on Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement, NBC News reported. McMorrow’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to NBC News.

The primary has become a test of competing views inside the Democratic Party over what kind of candidate is best suited to win in Michigan, a state President Donald Trump carried in 2024 after former President Joe Biden won it in 2020. Stevens’ allies argue her more moderate profile would help her attract swing voters in the general election, while McMorrow has presented herself as a candidate who can appeal to both wings of the party.

The Democratic nominee is likely to face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who ran for Senate in Michigan in 2024 and narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin by less than 0.5 percentage point. Democrats view the Michigan seat as critical as they try to regain control of the Senate, a challenge widely considered more difficult than flipping the House of Representatives.