El-Sayed leads Stevens in tight Michigan Senate primary

Abdul El-Sayed clung to a narrow lead over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens early Wednesday as Michigan Democrats waited for final votes in a Senate primary that has become a national test of the party’s ideological direction and its divisions over Israel.

CBS News described the race overnight as leaning toward El-Sayed, the progressive former Wayne County health director. With more than 95% of the statewide vote counted, El-Sayed was ahead in Kent County, home to Grand Rapids; Washtenaw County, home to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan; Kalamazoo County; and Ingham County, where most of Lansing is located.

Stevens, a four-term congresswoman and moderate Democrat, led in Wayne County, the state’s most populous county and home to Detroit and many suburbs, as well as neighboring Oakland and Macomb counties and Genesee County, home to Flint.

The Associated Press reported that with 91% of votes counted, El-Sayed had 48.9% and Stevens had 47.1%, according to Al Jazeera. Wayne County has historically reported results later than other counties, and Stevens pointed to uncounted votes in Detroit as she addressed supporters.

“We are still waiting on results,” Stevens said, adding, “I am feeling good.”

El-Sayed also struck an optimistic tone, saying “we are on track to vastly outvote the historical numbers that we should have expected.”

The winner will face Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in November. Rogers was unopposed for the Republican nomination, Al Jazeera reported. The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and the race could help determine which party controls the Senate next year.

The primary became a two-candidate contest after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign last month. El-Sayed, a physician who ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2018, has been backed by national progressives including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Stevens was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and endorsed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The campaign has grown bitter. El-Sayed has criticized outside spending supporting Stevens, including money from groups linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens has called El-Sayed a “celebrity candidate.”

The U.S.-Israel relationship has been a central issue. El-Sayed has strongly criticized U.S. aid to Israel and campaigned on “Medicare for All,” campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel, according to Al Jazeera. Stevens supports the U.S.-Israel alliance and focused her campaign on manufacturing and the economy, arguing she is best positioned to defeat Rogers.

“I’m Michigan’s workhorse. That’s what I want to be,” Stevens told CBS News. “My opponent, he’s already got his website for president.”

El-Sayed told CBS News that Michigan voters, who backed President Trump in two of the last three presidential races, are “sick and tired of the establishment bought off by corporations on both sides of the political aisle.”

Other Tuesday primaries also produced notable results, according to Al Jazeera. In Missouri, progressive Democrat Cori Bush lost her bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, while 80.3% of voters rejected Amendment 4, which would have made it harder for citizens to amend the state constitution. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton won an 11-candidate Democratic Senate primary and will face Republican Sen. Roger Marshall. In Washington state’s all-party primary, Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene led with 54.5% of the vote with 53% counted, while Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez advanced after defeating a progressive challenge.